


The Tamer v1.2 - Another Digimon Adventure

by leonardo1123581321



Series: The Tamerverse [2]
Category: Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Doctor Who Fusion, Humor, Mystery, Sequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2019-01-11
Packaged: 2019-09-12 06:59:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 51
Words: 363,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16868293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leonardo1123581321/pseuds/leonardo1123581321
Summary: Years have passed since their last adventure. Kari and TK find themselves pulled into the Digital World once more to save it from a new threat: The Digimon Emperor - known for his crazy hair, goggles, odd clothes, and skill with a digivice. Joined by friends new and old, together they must save the Digital World with one question in mind: Where are Agumon and The Digimon Tamer?





	1. Chapter 1

In a dimmed apartment somewhere in the world, an adult continues typing away on their computer. The adult briefly looks up from the screen to examine some documents before returning to work. After review, they open a tab to view a news site. Nothing catches their interest amidst the daily headlines of killings, politics, money, health tips, advice columns, and opinion editorials. It only lasts a little while before the adult closes the window and sighs, "Okay, time to get back at it."

**The Tamer v1.2: Another Digimon Adventure**

Years passed after the defeat of the Dark Masters and restoration of the Digital World. It had only known peace in that time - before he came with their dark rings and control spires. The sight of either was enough to send the digimon running while a brave few tried to fight back. Until that day, no one really knew who was behind it all since anyone fool enough to fight back was killed or turned into a slave by the dark rings. So when the dark rings appeared that day on the edge of the forest, every digimon knew to run for safety. Among them were seven friends, Gatomon, Patamon, Gomamon, Palmon, Biyomon, Gabumon, and Tentomon. Normally, these digimon would've stayed behind to fight but without the aid of their friends, they were just as helpless as the other digimon. And they knew better than to sacrifice themselves meaninglessly.

They fled for safety, watching in horror as digimon around them were ensnared by the dark rings or killed by other digimon under their control. When one of them came close to Gatomon, she felt a pain on her tail and it bounced away. Another went for Patamon but he was able to destroy it with a blast of compressed air from his lungs. The digimon continued running, stopping only when they took shelter in a nearby cave with other smaller digimon - Yokomon, Koromon, Gotsumon, and more. One of the Yokomon, peered out into forest at the sound of screams and fighting until Biyomon pulled her back, "Be careful. You don't want to get spotted."

"This is awful," the Yokomon shook, "Why is this happening? Where are the digidestined? They saved us before! Why aren't they here now?"

"They can't come back. The boundary between our worlds is closed," Tentomon reminded her, "We're on our own."

"Boy, I never thought I'd see the day where I'd want Agumon and The Digimon Tamer around," Gatomon sighed, "Agumon could at least digivolve."

"Come on guys, it's not too bad. If we work together, we can definitely fight back!" Gabumon tried to bring them together only to cower when they heard a familiar roar from the forest. They all knew that sound too well and immediately understood why anyone who tried to fight back usually died. If that sound was what they thought it was, no amount of team work would help them. They would need their human partners now more than ever.

* * *

There were many things Takeru Takaishi didn't like - one of them was the cheap lumpy oatmeal he'd have for breakfast whenever his mom was too busy to make anything. He sighed once he finished and downed his orange juice to help it along. Afterwards, he grabbed his backpack and called to his mom, "I'm going to school now!"

"Okay. Be good in school TK! And don't cause any trouble. I need to finish this article on the history of toilet paper and I can't do that if I have to talk to another teacher," his mother said with a frustrated tone, knowing that it was going to happen anyway. For her sake, TK replied, "I won't mom. Love you!"

He threw his bag over his shoulder and walked out in preparation of his first day at his new school. They'd moved to this new building as it would put TK within walking distance of the school so that he would always get there on time. It was a newer building, built in the aftermath of the damage to the city several years back. It's location was ideal though, since his brother and dad lived in the unit next door. Rather than take the stairs, he took the elevator down to the ground floor where he ran into two other kids - a purple haired girl his age and a slightly younger boy with short cropped hair. The girl perked her head up on looking at him - her eyes magnified by the bottle glasses she wore, "Hi! Never seen you before. My name's Yolei and this is Cody!"

The smaller boy offered a curt bow of his head, "It's nice to meet you."

"Hello, I'm Takeru but everyone calls me TK," he introduced himself with a soft smile, "I actually just moved here after enrolling in school."

"Oh, I heard about you," Yolei took a step back, her expression more uncertain. TK understood what this was about. He wasn't a bad person, but he'd earned a reputation as one after a few mishaps. His older brother accused him of picking up habits from another boy a few years back, although he could never tell if his brother was joking about. TK continued to smile and offered, "Whatever you've heard, it's definitely all exaggeration. I'm not a delinquent and I don't pick fights with people. Usually, they find me."

This didn't put Yolei at ease, and he couldn't ignore the narrowing eyes of Cody. The inquisitive look in his eyes was all too reminiscent of another friend, reaffirmed by the curious way he asked, "Is it true that you punched a teacher so hard he went bald?"

"What?" TK repeated, confused until it sank in, "No, that was an accident. I tripped and knocked the principal's toupee off. That was how I got kicked out of that school."

His answer seemed to satisfy Cody but the boy still kept an eye on him when he got on the elevator. TK noted that they took a step back from him once he was on but didn't say a thing until they got down to the bottom floor where his older brother was waiting for him with a bicycle in his hands. Yamato 'Matt' Ishida dressed in his green middle school blazer, the uniform of the middle school connected to the elementary school TK had been enrolled in. Naturally, this meant that Matt could better keep an eye on his little brother at school.

Of note was the guitar bag he carried over his shoulder. He'd become something of a small indie idol because of his band 'The Teenage Wolves' - where he was lead on vocals and guitar. It also helped that he'd let his blonde hair grow out so that he'd become drop dead gorgeous to many teen girls. TK thought it was okay, but never mentioned to his older brother that it made him look like a girl from the back. He waved, "Hey Matt!"

"Hey little bro," Matt nodded back. Before TK could say any more, Yolei had run up to him and started showering the boy in praise, "Oh! No way! You're Matt Ishida! My sister has all your CDs! Your music is amazing."

"Uh, right, nice to meet you," Matt nodded anxiously, weary as Cody also gave him a polite bow and greeting. TK snickered as his older brother hadn't grown accustomed to his fame yet. Yolei looked back at TK disbeleivingly, "It's crazy that you two are brothers, since he's a...well."

Matt moved to TK's side and messed up his hair, "Yeah, I know. Dad asked me to walk him to school so that he doesn't get into trouble."

"Yeah, I'm sure it has nothing to do with wanting to avoid the girls at your school," TK joked, earning him a playful head lock from his brother, "Shut up kid."

TK eventually wriggled his way out of the head lock and said, "Matt, I'll be fine. Seriously."

"Are you sure? I don't think mom or dad want another phone call saying that you got into a fight at school," Matt said with a mocking smile. TK sighed, "I don't go looking for fights, they find me."

"And who'd want to pick a fight with you while your older brother around?" Matt joked, brushing his hand through his hair. TK scoffed, "Literally anyone who sees that I need my older brother to walk me to school."

Matt's eyes narrowed but he relented. He retrieved a scrap of paper from a notebook in his bag and scribbled something on it. With a small nod, he handed the paper to Cody and said, "Okay. Then I'll see you at school TK. I have to get there early for band anyway. You look like a responsible little dude, so do me a favor and let me know if my kid brother gets into trouble. I'll come running and set him straight."

"Okay," Cody nodded, pocketing the paper. As they watched his brother bike off to school, Yolei begged Cody for his number - which the little boy refused since it was his responsibility to keep an eye on TK now. But also because he knew Yolei would just try to call him later. TK sighed, quietly preferring to be walked to school by his brother.

* * *

Kari Kamiya walked into class just as the first bell rang, signaling to students that they had five minutes to get to class. She was an average eleven year old elementary school student wearing a pink sleeveless turtle neck and yellow shorts. On top of this were pink fingerless gloves that went up just above her elbows and knee high socks with pink shoes.

She was just putting her notebook and pencil in front of her when another of her classmates hurried in ahead of the rest of the class. A boy roughly her age with short spiky brown hair and goggles around his head. He wore a bright blue long sleeve shirt under a dark blue open vest and brown khaki shorts. He was out of breath and red in the face, slumping down into his seat beside Kari. She saw the frustration plainly on his face and greeted him, "Hey Davis."

"Hey Kari," he sat up right away, his face lit up with a smile, "Guess what? This kid outside said he recognized me! I guess people are hearing about my awesome soccer skills!"

"Maybe," she said, trying not to over inflate his ego. They'd been good friends since the start of the school year, when the two had recognized each other from their first meeting a few years back. A meeting where he and his sister found her passed out on the street after she collapsed from illness. All the same, it looked like it had gone to his head and he added, "Yup, I guess I'm on my way to being a great soccer player."

The remaining students filed in while he continued his attempt at flirting with her, something she didn't appreciate but she liked him too much to ask him to stop. Once their home room teacher walked in, the second bell ran to signal the start of class. He set his papers and books down on his lectern to get their attention and began, "Good morning class, welcome to homeroom. It's good to see you all. I hope you're excited because we have a new student joining us today."

Kari blinked as she recalled the rumor that the new student was a delinquent who'd been kicked out of his old school after making the principal there bald. She and every other student in the room looked at the door just as the teacher let the student in. Surprise overwhelmed her when she saw the familiar face of TK walk into the room with a bright smile on his face. At the teacher's behest, he introduced himself, "Hi everyone. My name's Takeru Takaishi but you can all call me TK."

Davis leaned in and whispered, "That's the kid who said he recognized me. I didn't know he was the new kid."

The teacher pointed at the empty seat next to Kari's and said, "Please have a seat next to Ms. Kamiya and we can begin the class."

He strode towards her confidently, leaving Kari to wonder if he even recognized her after all the time that passed. She continued watching him as he sat down beside her, not hearing a word Davis was whispering to her. TK shot her a side glance and whispered, "Together again, huh?"

Kari felt a smile draw itself on her face, "Just like old times."

"Ms. Kamiya, Mr. Takaishi, no talking during class," their homeroom teacher said to them before going to face the chalkboard, "Let's begin today's lesson with mathematics."

* * *

Izzy walked past the computer lab on his way back from lunch and noticed that one of the computers had been left on. He peered into the empty room, cautiously watching for any students who might've snuck in while the laboratory was closed. Instead, he found the lone computer making erratic noises that urged him to investigate. As he drew closer, he noticed the screen displaying a simple message - 'Help. Urgent. Digital World in Danger.'

He did a double take and knew he'd need help in order to do anything. He thought of who he could get on such short notice - Sora was in a class and couldn't help, Matt would be in the band room with his band, he wouldn't be able to sneak out to get Joe, and Mimi wasn't…available. This left Kari who was having lunch in the lower building. He didn't have a moment to lose and went to get them.

* * *

Lunch rolled around, and Kari found herself eating between TK and Davis at the same table. TK and Kari tried their best to catch up with each other, but Davis was obviously jealous of the attention she was affording the boy. She asked, "So is it true you made the principal at your old school bald?"

"No! Where do these stories come from? I just tripped and knocked his toupee off," TK groaned, massaging his head. Kari giggled but Davis shot back, "Hey, you better not cause any trouble like that here."

"Davis, relax," Kari said, "It's fine."

TK threw his hands up, "Believe me, I don't want to. I get kicked out all the time over dumb stuff and I think it's just bad luck. Besides, I don't think you have to act all tough just to impress Kari. I think she already likes you."

"TK!" Kari gasped, feeling her face flush in embarrassment. This set Davis off, "What? That's not what this is about TJ."

"TK."

"Whatever. I'm just saying not to cause any trouble and you make it about-"

"Hey Kari," TK interrupted quickly, "I have to ask, are you hanging out with Davis because he looks like-"

"No, no of course not," Kari answered quickly, doing her best to hide how red her face. TK blinked in confusion, until a knowing smile settled on his face. He winked, "Okay, lips sealed."

"Hey, what was that?" Davis demanded accusingly. Before he could answer, a student from the middle school wing of the building showed up at their table. An older student with short cut red hair and frantic eyes named Koushiro Izumi or 'Izzy' to his friends. Kari asked, "Izzy, what's wrong?"

"And why are you out of breath? You didn't get out of shape did you? The middle school section of the building is literally down the hall," TK added. Izzy looked between them, then at Davis before saying, "No time to chat. I need your guys hand with something…important."

Kari knew that he could have only meant one thing by his choice of words and nodded towards TK knowingly. The two of them would have to put aside their conversation for now and hurried away while leaving their food on the table. Urgently, she looked at Kari, "Sorry. We'll be right back."

"What? No, I'm coming too! Maybe I can help," Davis offered, sitting up right away and following them all the way out to the hall. Izzy tried dismissing him, "Believe me Davis, we'd take your help if we could but this is something only the three of us can handle."

"No way. If PJ can handle it, I can handle it too!" Davis countered, earning a flat 'what' from Izzy. TK explained, "It's TK, and I think he's just trying to impress Kari."

"Do you want to go EA!?" Davis snapped angrily. TK added, "He even gets names wrong too. You really know how to find them Kari."

"It's not like that TK," Kari said, unsure if she was even fooling herself. TK added, "Sorry Davis. But the truth is you couldn't help if you wanted to."

"Well why not?" Davis folded his arms in disbelief. TK sighed, "Because we're about to go to another world filled with powerful monsters call digimon which is short for Digital Monsters. This is because the world is called the Digital World and its a world that's made of data."

"I feel like you made that all up just to make me go," Davis pointed out angrily. TK sighed, "If I wasn't, would you still try to go to the Digital World with us?"

"Okay, stop it you two," Izzy chastised the boys, "Davis, I know you mean well but you really wouldn't be of any help. If anything, you'd make it harder on us because we'd have to protect you."

"Hey, I'm pretty tough!" Davis persisted until TK produced his digivice from his pocket. Although he was trying to sound reasonable, Kari couldn't help but think he sounded dismissive, "No one's saying you're not Davis but you really wouldn't be of any help to us without a digivice like ours see."

"Oh yeah? Where do I get one? I'll get one and then I can help you guys out," Davis remained adamant about going with them to help out anyway that he could. Kari frowned at his persistence, wanting him to come but knowing that he really wouldn't be of any use in the Digital World. As they walked into the computer lab, TK added, "I'm sorry Davis but a digivice isn't something you can go out and get. Truth is, ours just kind of fell out of the sky."

No sooner did he say that, a bright light came from the monitor of one computer - scattering into three different lights. One flew straight into Davis's hand while the other two disappeared into the hall. The light balled and dimmed in his hand to become a digivice - taller in size than theirs with blue grips on either side and a black antenna on top. Izzy's mouth fell open while TK commented, "Sort of like that."

"Okay, so that means I can go to DigiWorld then, right?" Davis said more cheerily, "Hang on, did this come out of the computer."

"Yeah, which is the opposite of what we're trying to do. We want to get in," Izzy said, checking the computer to see a new message on display on the monitor. Kari peeked over his shoulder and read the words aloud, "Just say digiport open."

By then, Davis and TK were peering at the screen curiously. Davis repeated the words without much thought, "What does that mean? Digiport open."

Like that, the screen flashed a bright white light and Kari felt a familiar pulling sensation drag her into the screen. It quickly turned into a fall and she landed with a thump in a forest clearing. Behind them was a computer monitor with the image of the computer lab on its screen. It took her a moment to sit up straight just as she heard TK grunt upon landing beside her. Izzy landed next, with his typical declaration of, "Prodigious!"

Then screaming followed as Davis landed beside her, "Ah! What's happening!? Where are we? What is this place? Where's the school!? Kari! I'll protect you!"

Kari tried not to react to those words, the same ones spoken by her brother so long ago. Instead she stood up and dusted herself off, "It's fine Davis. Welcome to the Digital World."

"Digital World?" Davis looked around, frantically looking around at his new surroundings, "It looks like someone just dropped us in a forest."

"Yep, that's the Digital World," TK leapt up and offered Davis a hand, "Nice clothes by the way. Where'd they come from?"

"Clothes? What are you-" Davis cut himself short upon looking down. Kari hadn't noticed it either but his clothes had changed. He still kept the same brown khaki shorts and shoes, but his blue long sleeved shirt was replaced with a blue bomber jacket included with flames. He asked, "What the heck? Where did these come from? Although, I do like the look. Wait, why was I the only one to get new clothes?"

TK shrugged it off, "Let's worry about that later. We have to go find-"

"Izzy! TK! Kari! Some guy I don't know!" they heard a familiar buzz just ahead of them. The small red insect Tentomon emerged from the trees and flew into the arms of his former partner joyfully, "It's so good to see you! It's been so long! And at a good time too! We need your help!"

"Tentomon!" Izzy gleefully replied, "Were you the one who sent those messages on the computer?"

"Messages? Computer? Izzy, I may be your partner but I don't know how to do the things you do," Tentomon retorted just as they noticed Davis pointing at it with big eyes, "I remember that insect! It was there the day I met Kari and Izzy!"

"Hello! I'm Tentomon. Who are you?" Tentomon asked with a wave. Davis sputtered out in confusion while Kari answered for him, "This is Davis. He's a friend of ours - he was there when we met in my old apartment, remember?"

"Hmm...I do remember someone who wouldn't stop screaming. Was that him?" Tentomon asked, mistaking Davis for her mother. Davis was about to rebuff him but fell silent when a large roar echoed somewhere in the distance. Tentomon's voice fell to a whisper as he said, "It's not safe here. Follow me, there's a safe place near here."

* * *

TK was anxiously quiet while Tentomon led them through the forest into the cave. Inside, they found plenty of digimon hiding away in fear along with their digimon partners: Patamon, Biyomon, Palmon, Gabumon, Gomamon, and Gatomon. Upon seeing them, their partners ran up to them with a gleeful hug. Gatomon cheered, "You're here! I knew you'd come!"

"Gatomon! I missed you so much," Kari replied with tears in her eyes while she held her partner. TK was swept in the emotions of seeing his partner again after so much time, "Patamon!"

Their reunion was cut short when Biyomon asked, "Is there anyone else here?"

"No, just us," Izzy admitted to the bird whose expression sunk, "So what's going on? Why are you all hiding in the cave?"

Gatomon answered, "We're hiding from the Digimon Emperor - this bad guy who showed up not long ago and started enslaving digimon with these dark rings of his. He has control spires all over the Digital World that he uses to power the dark rings, and any digimon under his control do whatever he wants without question. Friends turn on friends, families get torn apart, and cats start getting along with dogs! It's insane!"

"That's messed up, who does that guy think he is?" Davis said, punching his fist into his other hand, "I'll show him."

"Who's that kid?" Gabumon asked anxiously, "He looks kind of like-"

"It's The Digimon Tamer!" a Yokomon cheered excitedly, "He's shown up to save us!"

"Wait, who?" Davis paused as digimon swarmed him with questions, "You'll stop the Digimon Emperor, right?"

"Where's Agumon? Is he already fighting the guy?"

"It took you long enough! Where were you?"

"What's your plan to win?"

"You'll bring back our friends, right?"

"This isn't The Digimon Tamer," Kari said, "He's just a good friend. His name is Davis."

A Gotsumon got close to the boys face in disbelief, "Are you sure? He's got the messy hair, the goggles, and the dumb clothes."

"Hey!" Davis took offense at the last statement but he cooled down when Kari assured the digimon, "I think I'd know my brother."

"She has a good point," Gotsumon nodded in agreement, "So if he's not him, do you know where Agumon and The Digimon Tamer are?"

"No, we don't. That's okay though because we can digivolve you guys and start fighting back," Izzy said. Tentomon shook his head, "That's no good. The control spires suppress digivolution. No one's been able to digivolve since he showed up."

"Wow, this guys sounds tough," TK frowned, not feeling this anxious since they first had to fight the Dark Masters. As he said that, another digimon ran in - a small red digimon with pointed ears and a feathery tail named Elecmon. Elecmon panicked, "I saw him! I saw him! The Digimon Tamer! And Agumon! We have it wrong! They won't come to save us!"

"What, why not?" Palmon asked, "What's got you so freaked out?"

"The Digimon Emperor! It's the Digimon Tamer!" Elecmon panicked, "And that roaring! It's SkullGreymon! That's why there's no survivors! SkullGreymon wouldn't leave any!"

"What!" Kari gasped. TK looked at her sadly, only able to imagine what must be going through her mind. He didn't think it was possible but they hadn't seen her brother in a long time and a lot of time had passed. Naturally Biyomon protested the idea, "No way. It couldn't be the Digimon Tamer."

"Crazy hair, goggles, dumb looking cape and clothes," Elecmon repeated, "Insanely smart and great at fighting too? Not to mention the way he uses his digivice. It was definitely The Digimon Tamer. The digivice looked different than normal, it was all black and had a bunch of new stuff on it. It was sort of like...um...like..."

"Like this?" Davis asked, producing his digivice for them to see at what could only be the most inopportune time. Elecmon panicked, "Like that! He's with the Digimon Emperor!"

"Whoa, I just got here," Davis answered defensively, while the other digimon started backing away, "I don't even know how to use this thing."

A loud rumble came from outside and Elecmon panicked, "Oh no. They followed me! We have to run! Come on!"

Elecmon bolted out of the cave to flee, only to be attacked by a dark ring. It flew at him with enough force to kick him along the ground when it attached itself to his body. The other digimon fell into silence, too scared to move after witnessing what befell Elecmon. The rumbling continued and a single Monochromon emerged from the trees wrapped in his own Dark Ring. Monochromon growled and charged straight ahead towards the cave where the digidestined and the remaining digimon were hiding. TK saw this and shouted, "Guys! Get out of the cave! We'll be trapped in here!"

"You don't have to tell us twice," one of the Yokomon shouted - sprinting from the cave and Monochromon. Everyone filed out just as Monochromon charged straight into the cave and disappeared. The situation seemed defused at first, until Elecmon rounded on them with electricity cackling from his feathery tail. Patamon gasped, "Watch out! Elecmon's not on our side anymore."

"We'll have to fight him! Maybe we can destroy the ring," Tentomon said, leading their digimon partners into the fray against him. TK declared, "Davis, stay behind us."

When he heard no response, he looked around and saw he was absent. He looked back at the cave and feared that he may not have escaped, "Oh no, Davis!"

* * *

Davis ran at a full sprint, regretting that he played soccer this morning because his legs were throbbing in protest. But he didn't dare stop as he looked over his shoulder to see the massive digimon edging closer. Just as it was about to overtake him, he felt something pull him to the side and into a branch of the tunnel. He braced himself to be trampled, only to hear the rumbling continue on into the distance, followed by a soft sigh, "That wasn't very smart, running from the Monochromon by running into a dark tunnel. I mean, they do just charge in a straight line so the smart thing would've been to get out of the way. Are you alright?"

"Um...yeah," Davis looked up at his savior but couldn't make out any details in the dark. The only thing he could clearly make out was messy hair and a long flowing coat. Davis squinted his eyes but it was hard to make out any more than that. Going by the sound of his voice, it had to be a guy but that didn't tell him much. He asked, "Who are you?"

"Just an idiot who's passing through," the person said, "Come along! Allonsy! Ew…that was…I'm sorry, I'm never saying that again."

"What?"

"Sorry, I just thought I needed a catchphrase and tried one out. Are you coming?"

"Wait, I have to go back! Kari and Izzy and...TJ, I think. Anyway, they need my help!" Davis countered. The figure paid no heed and replied, "They'll be fine, you're the one who was nearly flattened. You won't be of much help to them right now."

Against his better judgment, Davis stumbled along the darkness after his rescuer and into a large chamber lit by a small hole in the wall that let light trickle in. The light fell upon a small egg colored red and yellow in the pattern of flames. Protruding from the top was a single metal blade like a horn and engraved on its side was an orange symbol designed to look like a sun. Davis asked, "Whoa, what kind of chicken laid that egg?"

The figure didn't respond and stepped towards it. With what little light trickled in, Davis could better make out his savior - a long blue coat that led up to a hood for concealing his face, black pants, and white shoes. He looked to be only a head taller than Izzy, but it was difficult to tell anything else beyond the small smile he offered when he looked back, "Not a chicken. A digimon - one that'll help you fight the Digimon Emperor."

"Really? Cool," Davis said, striding towards the egg anxiously. He stopped just short of picking it up and eyed his rescuer nervously, "Why are you helping me? Who are you?"

"That's what you're asking me when I'm giving you the chance to impress Kari?" the figure asked. Davis's eyes narrowed and he called the figure out, "I'm in another world where monsters attack me and some weird guy is giving me food to fight the monsters. Yes, I'm asking that question. And how do you know Kari?"

The smile disappeared but he finally lowered his hood to reveal a tired face topped with fiery brown hair and goggles. Davis tried to remember where he'd seen the face before but couldn't quite place it while the rescuer explained, "Just a friend. Don't worry if I look familiar, I get that a lot. As for how I know Kari, she…well, thinks I'm her brother."

Realization set in for Davis as he finally remembered meeting this boy years ago in Kari's apartment - and the photo that he mistook for his own. Davis pointed at him with his mouth wide open, "I remember you! You're the reason I got goggles! You're her brother…Tai!"

"Oh no, not another one," he replied, readjusting his hood to hide his face, "Whatever. I like your goggles by the way. Very fashionable, like I said."

"Yeah, they keep the wind out of my face when I play soccer!" Davis smiled. The stranger giggled before adding, "It's been a long time since I saw you last, Davis. But there's a long way for you to go. You're going to do so much and you'll be so important. But let's keep this between us for now. Not just what I'm saying, but our meeting too."

"Dude! Kari's been looking for you!" Davis retorted, "Everyone's looking for you! Why not just come out and-"

"No," his tone became more warning, "I can't. Not yet, not until I can save my best friend. There are a lot of…things out there that want me dead and I can't fight them off without my partner. Until then, I need to keep my head down and the only way I can do that is to stay in the shadows."

"But-"

"Yes, I have a very nice butt. Thank you," Tamer bowed, "Now go take the egg and save the day!"

Davis's eyes narrowed as he watched the stranger take a step back, before nodding to take the egg. It was as light as a feather as he lifted it off the ground. No sooner than he did, a pillar of orange light came up from where he pulled the egg and a small blue dinosaur with pointed ears and a horn on his nose looked up. The creature hovered above the ground, its knees pulled into his chest in the fetal position before it opened its eyes to look at him. With a toothy grin, the creature leapt off the ground, "DAVISH!"

Davis stumbled backwards while the little blue creature bounced around him playfully, "DAVISH! IT'SH SHO GOOD TO FINALLY MEET'CHA! I'M VEEMON! BUT YOU CAN JU-SH-T CALL ME VEEMON!"

"Uh…hi. Hey, Tai or whatever! Who-" Davis paused when he looked over his shoulder to see no one standing there. He glanced around the room and saw the only occupants were now him and the little imp Veemon who asked, "Hey Davish. Who are you talking too?"

Davis stuttered for a moment before replying, "No one. So…um, it's nice to meet you Veemon but…what are you?"

"I'm glad you ashked! I'm Veemon, your partner digimon! We're known for our shtrength and good luck, but alsho because we sometimes play pranksh on other digimon!" Veemon said excitedly, "Oh, it'sh so good to finally meet you. I waited sho long I ended up taking a nap! But I'm done with that for now! What should we do firsht?"

"Right! Um…first we should probably get out of here," Davis said just as more rumbling came from the only entrance into the room. Davis swallowed, certain of what was coming at them, "Oh crap, I forgot about Monochromon! He's coming this way!"

"Davish! You have to help me digivolve!" Veemon said quickly, which made Davis throw up his arms in frustration, "How?"

"Ushe the digiegg!" Veemon explained. Davis looked down at the digiegg in his hand and did the only thing that made sense to him - he threw it as hard as he could at the big digimon. It bounced off its head and rolled to a stop at Davis's feet, surprising the charging Monochromon who seemed just as dumbfounded as Veemon about the event.

* * *

Patamon, Gatomon, Tentomon, and the other digimon partners did what they could to fight off Elecmon but he was a lot faster and more aggressive than any of them remembered. Izzy postulated that the dark ring increased their overall strength, possibly putting him at the level of a champion despite being a rookie. Kari tried to reason with the digimon to no avail, "Snap out of it Elecmon! This isn't you!"

"It's no use, you're completely under the Digimon Emperor's control once you're captured by the dark ring," Gatomon shouted. The earth shook and Monochromon erupted from a hole in the mountain wall. On his back were Davis and a little blue digimon holding on for dear life. The little digimon wailed, "Why would you throw the digiegg at it?"

"I don't know how to use a digiegg! And what the crap is digivolving Veemon?" Davis shouted back, holding on for dear life as Monochromon rampaged. TK had no idea what either of them were talking about or how they got in that situation, but was relieved to see them safe all the same. Kari shared that sentiment and shouted, "Hang on Davis!"

"NO SHIT!" Davis shouted back in terror while Monochromon threw a wild fit and finally managed to throw them both off into the side of the mountain. Davis stood up and groaned, "Ow. Let's never do that again."

"Davish, I need to digivolve! It'sh the only way," Veemon said again. Davis groaned in frustration, "How? It's not like there's a manual!"

"You jusht have to show courage!" Veemon told him as Monochromon turned towards them again. Davis dusted himself off and picked the digiegg off the ground. He didn't stand a chance against the giant digimon, but refused to budged as it roared and ran towards him, "You want courage? You got it!"

Just as it seemed he'd be trampled, the egg in his hand illuminated with orange light and his digivice whistled a deafening scream. The light enveloped the blue digimon beside him and he shouted, "Veemon! Armor Digivolve to! Flamedramon, the Fire of Courage!"

The light turned into a dazzling display of fire, subsiding only to show that Veemon had grown to be twice Davis's size but with fully elongated limbs dressed in armor styled like the egg. From his helmet and his gauntlets came out blades for his claws and horn. The newly born champion held the Monochromon back from smearing Davis against the mountain. Gatomon gasped, "No way. How is that even possible? No one can digivolve with a control tower around!"

"Armor digivolution isn't the same thing as regular digivolution," Flamedramon answered, using his leg to kick the massive champion digimon back, "It's stronger, using the power of the digiegg for digivolution. Now, let's cook this digimon!"

"Don't hurt him Flamedramon!" Tentomon reminded the champion, "Just destroy the dark ring!"

"I won't," Flamedramon leapt into the air and came aflame before diving onto Monochromon from above, "Fire Rocket!"

Like a comet, he crashed straight into the ring wrapped around the champion digimon's body and cracked it like glass. Monochromon shook its head as soon as the dark ring disappeared, confused and disoriented about its surroundings, "What happened? Where am I?"

"Alright! That just leaves Elecmon!" TK shouted excitedly, watching their digimon partners still trying to overpower the digimon. Tentomon shouted, "It's the control spires! Destroy the control spire and all the dark rings will stop working!"

"Flame Fist!" Flamedramon leapt into the air and threw a ball of fire from his hand towards a distant black column. All it took was one blast, but it shattered the side like glass and crumbled to dust. AS soon as it vanished, Elecmon fell to the same disorientation as Monochromon. He shook his head quietly while Gatomon and Gabumon wrestled the ring off him. It only took one try but the ring broke as easily as the others. TK breathed a sigh of relief and went to check on Elecmon while Kari comforted the Monochromon. Davis cheered excitedly and boasted of Flamedramon's accomplishment until he realized Kari wasn't paying attention.

After Flamedramon regressed to Veemon, an orange light burst from his body into Davis's digivice. From there, it produced another light that went into his pocket. Davis reached in and produced an unfamiliar device with a flip screen, "What's this? It looks like a flip phone but it says D-Terminal. Huh. Hey! It has the digiegg in it! Wait a second, what's it-"

Light burst forward from the device into the hands of Izzy, TK, and Kari. The three digidestined were surprised to see a similar device appear in their hands - a phenomenon that had Izzy saying, "Prodigious! We have them too!"

"But what is it?" Tentomon asked, buzzing over Izzy's shoulder to get a better look. Izzy shrugged and looked TK square in the eye. Although neither boy said a word, both knew what the other was thinking. There were three lights that left the monitor and one landed in Davis's hand. With the inclusion of a digimon partner, he was now a digidestined - a child chosen to save the Digital World. Kari smiled, "There's no doubt about it now, huh Davis?

"Yep, guess I'm one of you guys now," Davis said happily, "So why don't we go after that Digimon Emperor dude?"

"It'd be a waste of time," Gatomon pointed out, "The Digimon Emperor never attacks at night."

"Boy, what a let down. He actsh all tough but he'sh afraid of the dark!" Veemon complained.

"I guess we'd better figure out how to get back to our world then," Izzy mused, "How do we get back?"

Other questions remained on TK's mind but he didn't bring them up: who were the other two digidestined? Who was the Digimon Emperor and what was his connection to The Digimon Tamer? As happy as he was to see Patamon again, what exactly were they up against that they'd be called to action again?

* * *

 


	2. The New DigiTeam

Their return trip to the Real World was uneventful, save for the tangled mess the digidestined found themselves in when they reappeared in the computer laboratory. Izzy was able to get out the easiest, but Kari, TK, and Davis were entangled more deeply with someone's foot pushing against TK's face. After some struggling, they were able to untangle themselves and looked back at the computer to see the monitor now held the image of a familiar site. TK practically gasped, "It's the gate!"

"It doesn't look like it's active right now," Izzy began stroking keys and attempting to open it, "Nothing. I guess it's not active any more."

"But what if anything else happens?" Davis asked, "How are we going to get back?"

"No idea," TK mulled, with a hand to his chin, "I think we need to tell the others about this."

"Others?" Davis repeated questioningly until he remembered, "Oh! That's right, there were…eight of you?"

"Eight if you count Tai. Since we don't know where he is, there's only seven," Kari answered sadly. Davis opened his mouth as if to say something but stopped short - TK surmised he could only be lost for words so he tried to cheer Kari up. With a comforting hand on her shoulder, TK said, "I'm sure he's fine."

"Before we do anything else, we need to tell the others. I'll go make some calls," Izzy instructed, "The park by school. Let's meet there after school around seven. Is that good?"

"Yeah," TK nodded, taking notice of the setting sun and the orange glow it cast on the world outside, "Wait a minute. It's late!"

"It is!" Kari gasped in disbelief, "But how? It should only have been a second!"

"What are you talking about? We were in there for a while," Davis said calmly, unsure why they were panicking. Izzy scratched his chin and hypothesized, "We can't be sure things are the way they used to be. Time in the Digital World and Real World might be synchronous now."

Izzy's theory was confirmed when they heard the door slide open and one of the teachers came in to reprimand them. TK especially got an earful for missing school on his first day, cementing his status as a delinquent on day one. They were all issued warnings that their parents would receive a call about their absence, before being dismissed.

* * *

They met later that night at a small playground just a block away from the school. TK arrived with Davis and Kari to find the other older digidestined there waiting for them. Sora was sitting atop the monkey bars arranged like a cage, making sure to sit so that her skirt didn't show anything it shouldn't and grumbling about hating them. Joe stood at the foot of the cage, reclining against the bars and occasionally checking his wrist watch. He wore the blue school uniform of the high school further away, signifying he was the oldest there both in age and maturity - although he was still cautious to a fault. Like Matt, he'd let his hair grow out but he combed it all back out of his face. After a quick exchange of greetings, Izzy sat down on the bench and opened his laptop to reach the other digidestined Mimi, "Give me a second while I get Mimi online. It should nine o'clock over there so she should be awake. Assuming she's ditching again."

"We haven't gotten together like this since Diaboromon," Sora said with a soft smile, sharing a sentiment they all felt, "So what's the big emergency? Is this about that D-Terminal thing that ended up in our pockets?"

"I think we should wait for Matt," TK suggested, "That way we can all hear it at once."

"Sure thing," Joe nodded in agreement before eyeing Davis curiously, "So who's he?"

"Oh, I'm-" Davis began until TK elbowed him, "I said wait 'til Matt gets here."

"I was just saying hi," Davis protested, "Man, you really are a delinquent."

"I am NOT a delinquent!" TK protested until Davis added, "Then how come you got in trouble for missing your first day?"

"TK, come on!" Matt groaned, arriving at the exact moment Davis said that. TK hung his head glumly - wishing Davis hadn't mentioned that part and sighing, "It's not how it sounds."

"You had one job and that was don't get in trouble on your first day," Matt face palmed.

"Guys, don't fight. Seriously, you're worse than Matt and Tamer," Izzy scolded them, making the two boys fall silent. Matt sighed and brushed his locks, "Sorry I'm late. Band practice ran a little longer than we wanted. So what's this all about? TK getting in trouble at school? If this is an intervention-"

"It's not an intervention!" TK spat out bitterly. Izzy finally managed to connect to Mimi on the computer and greeted her pleasantly, although she groaned, "What's going on so early?"

"Sorry, it's an emergency," Izzy said, turning his laptop so they could all face each other, "Let's get started. Everyone, this is Davis."

"Hiya!" Davis said, puffing out his chest boldly. Izzy went on, "Davis, you already know Kari, TK, and myself. These are Matt, Sora, Joe, and Mimi. You might not remember them but-"

"You guys are the kids who showed up in Kari's apartment that day she was sick and all the digimon showed up," Davis finished the sentence, "I remember you guys. Well, most of you."

"Oh, I remember you. Tamer thought you were the eighth digidestined," Joe pointed at him, "Didn't he also think you were a girl? You know, we never got confirmation on that."

"I'm not a girl!" Davis stamped his foot on the ground. Joe chuckled while Izzy went on, "He may not have been a digidestined then. But I think we can call him the ninth digidestined now. Davis, show them your digivice."

Davis produced it for them from his pocket to the awe of the digidestined present. When pressed on it, Davis proudly recounted the entire story to them, emphasizing how he and his partner were the ones to save the day. Anything he glossed over, Izzy covered from the digiegg, the digiport opening, the D-Terminals, the afternoon they lost and their new enemy. TK breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed Matt's surprise at time flowing steadily between the two worlds - which meant his older brother would lay off him for leaving school.

"So these things came from Davis's digivice?" Sora repeated while she examined the D-Terminal in her hand, "It's great but why did we get them?"

"If they operate anything like a flip phone, they're meant to be a form of communication," Izzy postulated, "I wanted to do a few tests to see just what these are capable of. If these are anything like the other devices that belong to the Ancients, the D-Terminal might have more functions than we expect."

"Forget about that! What about Palmon and the others!? Are they okay?" Mimi fretted from the screen. Sora nodded in agreement, "I have to be honest, I am worried about Biyomon."

"They're fine. We left them somewhere safe. I was going to go back tomorrow after school. The last thing we need is to get in trouble again for missing class," Izzy said. Sora leapt off the cage and dusted herself off, "I'll go with you. The more of us, the better."

"I'd like to go but I'm in the middle of interviews for medical school," Joe said quietly. Matt waved his hand, "And we've got practice for a concert that's coming up."

"I want to come too," Mimi said excitedly, but lamented, "But…I have no idea how. It's not like I can get on the next flight there."

"Well I'm going! You'll need me since Veemon's the only one who can digivolve!" Davis said excitedly, reminding TK of the three lights, "That's right! I almost forgot, there were three lights just like at summer camp. That means there are two other kids in our school with digivices."

"Oh man. I thought I'd get to be the hero," Davis bemoaned that fact, kicking some dirt up in frustration. TK added, "Don't worry about it. We don't even know who the other two kids are. Until we do, you're still the only one we can count on. I think we need to keep an eye out until then."

"I think we all need to," Joe agreed, "Especially with this Digimon Emperor on the loose. How about The Digimon Tamer? Have you gotten any weird emails lately?"

"No," Izzy shook his head, "We were all worried when Tamer didn't show up but we have to consider the possibility that the Digimon Emperor _is_ The Digimon Tamer. The only digimon who saw him was Elecmon and his description of the Emperor went - goggles, weird clothes, messy hair, knew how to his digivice, and accompanied by SkullGreymon."

"That's...very unsettling," Joe noted. Izzy agreed, "With nothing else to go on, it's possible that we'll have to fight them. But this also raises another question - when did they get back and why are they doing this?"

They agreed to keep this all to themselves for now and returned home. Davis offered to walk Kari home, something she didn't protest. Since Matt and TK lived in the same direction, they ended up tagging along to Davis's displeasure. This was made worse since Kari spent most of the time catching up with TK and Matt. They parted ways at TK and Matt's apartment and Matt immediately asked about Davis once they were out of earshot, "Is it me or does Davis sort of look like-"

"He does," TK replied, "I don't know if Tamer left an impression on him back then but it's obvious that's why Kari spends time with him."

"Does he know?" Matt asked. TK paused as he considered that possibility and shrugged, "If he does, then he's doing a good job pretending he doesn't. And if he doesn't, then it'll be really awkward for both of them when he can finally spit it out."

Matt snorted as he tried to hold back his laugh and asked, "And what about you?"

That question left TK worrying that Matt would take this conversation down that direction, "What about me?"

He braced himself for his brother's response, worrying that his own brother would be the one to give him the talk about girls. Matt looked at him slyly and said, "Let's face it - Davis may look like him but you pretty much act like him. You don't think that's affecting your friendship with her?"

"No way! Just because I do some Tamer-ish things, that doesn't make me Tamer. And it's not like I do them intentionally. It just kinda...happens. Besides, Kari's more level headed than that - we're just good friends," TK said in her defense, to his brother's amusement. He patted his brother's hair, "If you say so buddy. Here's my stop. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye Matt," TK said, watching his older brother disappear into the unit next to his. He looked at it sheepishly, but was content with the current arrangement. Their parents had gotten closer since Myotismon's attack several years ago, but that didn't mean they were back together. Rather, they understood that nothing was ever going to fix their broken marriage, but that didn't mean it had to keep their children away from each other. So, they ended up living in the same apartment building in two adjacent units for the sake of their children. Seeing his brother whenever he wanted was a source of joy for TK. Knowing that his mother would probably tell him off for skipping off on the first day of school wouldn't be. He sighed and prepared himself to be lectured about getting in trouble on his first day of school.

* * *

The next morning TK hurried out the door in anxious anticipation of going back to the Digital World. His thoughts were still on the identity of the other two digidestined, probably just as lost and confused as they were the first they went to the Digital World. He stepped on the elevator to find Cody and Yolei already there. Cody shot him an accusatory look while Yolei greeted him, "Oh hey TK! Heard you got in trouble for ditching."

"Yeah, mom chewed me out but I had a good reason," TK offered, knowing he couldn't tell them that he'd gone to another world. Yolei nodded with a smirk, "I bet. I heard you dragged that block head Davis, Kari - who's like the cutest girl in our school - and Izzy along with you. What were you guys up to for a whole day and how did you convince a genius like Izzy to come along?"

"Oh...things and stuff," TK really wished the elevator would just get to the bottom already. Cody nodded at Yolei and whispered, "Leave him alone Yolei. We have other things to worry about."

"Have you figured what those things do yet?" Yolei whispered back, "I fiddled with them all night and I couldn't even figure out how to turn them on."

Cody shook his head and Yolei groaned, exasperated and confused. TK looked back and joked, "You know it's not whispering if I can hear you. What are you two talking about?"

Admittedly, his curiosity was peaked and he expected to be given the cold shoulder. Instead his answer came when Yolei readjusted her bag defensively and countered, "Oh. It's nothing. Things and stuff."

In her attempt to move her bag, a new digivice fell out of her bag along with a D-Terminal. On closer inspection, her digivice had a red grip instead of blue like Davis's. Yolei quickly set about picking up the devices while Cody commented, "Good job. Yolei."

"Huh. Didn't expect it to be you guys," TK blinked, looking at Yolei and Cody in amazement that these two would be the digidestined they were looking for. He wondered how much of this was the 'destiny' stuff Tamer always spouted and how much of it was just coincidence. Cody looked at him disbelievingly, "TK, you know what these things are?"

"You bet I do," he said as the elevator finally got to the ground. He strolled out excitedly, grinning so large he was probably terrifying them, "I honestly thought it would be a lot harder to find you guys."

"Find us? Why were you looking? We live in the same building! TK, what's going on?" Cody was hesitant but followed along. Once again, Matt waited for his brother and tapped his foot impatiently, "Hey TK. Dad's making me take you to school today. No ifs or buts about it. He wants to make sure you don't ditch again."

"Forget about that Matt! I found the other two digidestined!" TK gestured to Yolei and Cody behind him. His older brother looked at them apprehensively, unimpressed by what he was seeing. Cody pressed again, "What is he talking about? What's a digidestined?"

* * *

Sora was the first one to the get to the computer lab after school, looking around to find that all but one of the computers had been turned off. She looked at the monitor to find the image of the Digital Gate covered in strange symbols and characters - similar to the 'Gate of Destiny' used by MagnaAngemon. Biyomon was just on the other side of that gate, as were the rest of their digimon friends and the world beyond. She pressed a few keys on the computer to make it open but got no reaction. She thought to try one more thing and produced her digivice from her bag, pointing it at the screen and recalling the words The Digimon Tamer said before, "Digiport open!"

Nothing. She sighed, "Yeah right."

"That won't work."

Sora jumped as Izzy walked in with Kari and Davis. Davis peered from behind Izzy, "Hey, trying to go in ahead of us?"

"Just anxious to see Biyomon again," Sora smiled earnestly, eager to see her friend, "Where's TK?"

"No idea. Dude just ran off after class and said he'd meet up with us," Davis answered, folding his arms behind his head and smiling goofily, "Looked really excited about something. He kept fidgeting all through class."

"Maybe he was doing a pee dance," Kari giggled, falling quiet when she heard voices coming from the hall. Two students, a girl from Kari's grade and a boy from a lower grade were ushered inside by TK. Both looked nervously at TK and the girl complained, "Stop pushing! Why are we going to the computer lab?"

"It'll make sense when we get there," TK explained as he finally entered the room and waved to the others, "Guys! You'll never believe it! The two other digidestined are kids in our school who live in my apartment!"

"What's a digidestined?" the boy asked, obviously agitated and looking at TK expectantly, "You keep saying that word like we're supposed to know what it means."

"How do you know?" Izzy eyed the two kids, and looked at the girl carefully, "Hey, Yolei. It's good to see you, what's TK talking about?"

"You two know each other?" TK asked.

"Yeah, from the computer club," Yolei replied, "Can someone tell me what's going on? First TK, Kari, Davis, and you skip school yesterday. Then these weird things show up in our bags! Now TK's acting all weird and dragging us to the computer lab after school."

"Right, introductions: Guys, these are Yolei and Cody! You two already know Kari, Davis, and Izzy. And last is Sora," TK introduced them all properly. Cody bowed to them all respectfully, "It's nice to meet you all."

"Hi," Kari waved back.

"Okay, so is someone going to explain what these things are?" Yolei whipped out her digivice and her D-Terminal for them to see. Cody did the same and allowed Izzy to inspect them, noting that Yolei's red grip and Cody's yellow. Davis showed his own digivice, "Oh cool. You guys have them too! That means you guys can go to the Digital World with us!"

"What?" Yolei blinked and looked to Izzy for an answer. Izzy explained everything to them up to that point to catch them up to speed on the Digital World, digimon, and the role the digidestined played in saving both worlds. Yolei blinked at the end of the explanation, "Aren't digimon those monsters that showed up a few years ago? You want us to save them after what they did to us?"

Cody remained oddly quiet, however TK could tell just by looking that the boy wasn't as keen to go. He commented, "That wasn't the response I was expecting."

"Come on you guys," Davis said with his usual flare to convince them, "The Digital World is totally cool and those digimon are mostly nice. Some of them are pretty tough but the bad ones aren't really that bad, they're just being controlled. That's why we have to go save the Digital World."

"I don't want to get dragged into the middle of this," Yolei held out her digivice towards TK as if to give it to him. TK saw this and had an idea, "Okay, all you have to do to back out of your responsibility is say 'digiport open'."

"TK, what are you-" Kari began to protest until TK pressed a finger against her lips. Sora realized what it was and face palmed just as Yolei said, "Okay, that's kind of a dumb thing to have to say. Digiport Open!"

As soon as those words left her mouth, light flashed from her digivice and Sora felt the familiar sensation of being pulled skyward, then falling to the ground. Unsurprisingly, Yolei and Cody screamed in fear the entire way. In the middle of their screams, Davis cheered excitedly until they arrived in the Digital World. Izzy, TK, Davis, and Kari landed on their feet while Sora, Cody and Yolei fell flat on the ground. Davis jumped up, "Yeah! Nailed it!"

"What _was_ that!?" Yolei groaned while lifting herself off the ground. Sora glanced over at her and did a double take of Yolei and Cody's new clothes. Yolei wore a colorful mismatch of an orange helmet on her head, blue turtleneck, red pants, white gloves, tan vest and boots. The whole ensemble was an eyesore to look at yet had the appeal of a military uniform. Meanwhile, Cody's new attire was simple - a beige tunic clasped shut by a single button, purple pants and brown shoes.

The two children had forgotten all about being dragged to another world, instead basking in surprise by their change in attire. But their reactions were polar opposites: Yolei was gleeful and wondered if this happened every time while Cody wanted his clothes back and worried that he'd get in trouble for not having them. Davis added, "Yeah! It's cool right? You get a new wardrobe whenever you come here."

"Not us, we're still wearing our own clothes," Kari frowned. Izzy pointed out, "Enjoy the wardrobe later. We shouldn't hang around until we find our digimon. The Digital World isn't the safest place right now."

"Hold on! I'm not going anywhere! The clothes are cool and all but I want to go home right now!" Yolei demanded of the digidestined who were already starting to walk away. TK waved at her, "Okay, you can just stay here."

"Hey! I thought you guys were supposed to be good guys!" Yolei shouted, realizing they weren't coming back and following along annoyedly, "Ugh, I can't believe I thought he was cute. He's such a jerk."

Cody agreed with her sentiment but added, "We should stick with them for now. They know what they're doing better than we do."

* * *

They found the cave where they'd left their digimon the night before. Upon seeing her partner, Biyomon ran into Sora's arms, "SORA! You're so big now!"

"Biyomon! It's been too long!" Sora embraced her partner tightly. TK nodded approvingly of their reunion, noting Palmon, Gabumon, and Gomamon were dejected about their partners not coming with. Gatomon pointed out a new spire in the horizon where the previous one had been destroyed, "We can't celebrate yet. The Digimon Emperor came back this morning and put a new control spire where the old one was."

"Doesn't that guy want to take a vacation? What's up with that!?" Davis complained, noticing the rumbling coming from ground, "Uh...what's that?"

No sooner did he say that but ground beneath his feet gave way to a massive hole where a large purple mole with a drill for a nose awaited them - Drimogemon. A dark ring around its neck made the digimon growl and hiss at Davis, and his partner leapt in to help, "Don't worry! I'm coming Davish!"

"No wait!" TK tried to stop the digimon, only to watch them both disappear into the darkness below. Before anyone could think to mount a response, a Snimon and another Monochromon under the influence of the dark rings emerged from the forest to attack. Their digimon partners didn't waste any time going on the offensive, trying to fight their attackers back to no avail - they were just too weak without the power to digivolve. Yolei gasped and fell to the ground in a stupor, "No! Not that thing again! I thought it was dead! Where did it come from?"

TK could only fathom what triggered such a terrified reaction from Yolei and pleaded with her, "It's not safe here Yolei. Snap out of it. We have to get out of here!

"Everyone! Run!" Sora told them, looking over at Izzy, "Like old times, huh?"

"I'd prefer some old times that didn't involve getting eaten," Izzy responded, helping TK pull Yolei up. As they started running, Kari asked, "What about Davis and Veemon?"

"They'll be fine! Remember yesterday?" Gatomon replied, "Let's worry about us instead!"

They ran as fast as their feet could carry them into the woods, away from the attacking digimon. Snimon whipped past over head, stopping to occasionally reorient itself and letting Monochromon try to run them down. They had to run in a zigzag pattern to keep Monochromon from trampling over them until they came upon a temple just ahead of them. It was a familiar sight to Sora, Kari, and Izzy who pointed it out, "There! we've been there before. It should be safe."

"Are you kidding! It's ancient!" TK gasped. Kari added, "Don't worry! It's tougher than it looks."

"We've seen this temple before! It can only mean one thing! We're on File Island!" Izzy proclaimed.

Everyone hurried inside just as Monochromon was about to trample them and crashed into the entrance. He was too large to fit through the small door and managed wedge his head through. The temple reverberated with the impact but no damage was done to it. Everyone collectively gasped for breath while Monochromon began pacing outside in anticipation of them exiting. Sora gasped, "It looks like we're safe in here."

"Yeah, but now we're trapped," Yolei panicked, shaking in terror, "There's only one way in and-"

Before she could finish, she bore witness to the darkened temple humming to life with light and gasped, "What's happening?"

"It's just the temple," Izzy said, as he traced patterns into the hieroglyphs on the wall, "I still remember how to turn the lights on. But that's about it since all of my notes are on my laptop."

"What is this temple anyway?" Cody looked around curiously, "It looks so old but it's like something out of one of those science fiction shows."

"We're _in_ a science fiction show Cody," TK pointed out, "Another world, devices that operate like magic, monsters that change form. The only thing we need to complete the craziness is to go to space."

"Very funny," Cody rolled his eyes. Both his digivice and Yolei's started beeping erratically, alarming the rest of them. Kari looked at her digivice expectantly, "I wonder why mine isn't doing that?"

"None of our digivices are," Sora examined her own digivice, then looked at Cody's. It's screen was remarkably similar to theirs, only it displayed two red dots on the screen that seemed to be further into the temple. Izzy sighed, "Why is it that we always end up having to go further into this place to get answers?"

"Come on Izzy, where's your sense of adventure?" Sora went ahead confidently, leading the rest of the group into maze like interior. Yolei asked, "You said this place is a temple, right? What is it a temple to?"

"Our digivices," Kari replied knowingly, "We were here once before. There's supposed to be a room where…there's…"

She paused as they came upon a large room with two stone pedestals holding up two eggs. One was silver marked with the crest of love and flanked with blades on both sides. The other was yellow with a small drill on the top and marked with the crest of knowledge. All of the digidestined who'd been here previously paused at the sight before them but only Palmon could put it into words, "This is new."

"Do you think Tamer and Agumon redecorated when no one was around?" Gomamon looked around the new room, disappointed that it was completely bare save for the two eggs on the pedestals. Sora approached the egg with the crest of love and examined it carefully, "Do you think it's for us? They have our crests on it."

"Doubt it," TK folded his arms and recalled the egg Davis held, "If anything, it's for Yolei and Cody."

He looked back at the two kids who both looked like they wanted to go home. Izzy gestured for them to come over and asked, "What do you guys say? Want to give it a try?"

"Not really. I just want to go home," Yolei admitted, "This has been cool, especially with the new clothes. But I don't want anything to do with this. What about you Cody?"

The boy looked down at his toes sheepishly before adding, "It is rude that nobody asked us if we wanted this."

Sora had a feeling that she knew why they hesitated and put a hand on both of them, "The truth is no one gets asked. You get chosen and it becomes your responsibility. It was the same way for us. We just sort of got roped into this and we were scared too."

Yolei eyed her curiously and growled, "I'm not scared, I just don't want anything to do with this. I never forgot what happened years ago - those digimon showed up and killed people. Now I'm being asked to save them? Why should I? I remember who saved me and it wasn't a digimon. It was this girl with a pink dress and a cowboy hat."

"You mean Mimi?" Palmon asked, "Wait! I remember you! You were a lot shorter back then."

"What are you talking about?" Yolei winced as Palmon came closer. Tentomon cocked his head to the side, "You're right! She does look familiar!"

"You probably don't remember but I was right there with Mimi," Palmon revealed excitedly, "She might be the one you remember but I was there with her when we saved you. I gave it my all, remember? I didn't stay the whole time though because I had to leave and help someone else."

Yolei blinked a few times and pointed at the plant, "Ah! Weren't you a pixie last time?"

"That's when I was Lillymon!" Palmon smiled playfully, "See? Not all digimon are bad. We're your friends and we want to help."

"It's a big responsibility," Izzy added, "But you're a digidestined now and that means you have to help make sure no one else has to feel the same way."

Yolei looked like she was giving it some thought but Cody was somehow convinced, "I usually reserve my opinions until I have all the information, that's what my dad used to teach me. But if it helps people, then I'll do it."

Yolei was taken aback and tried to reason with the boy, "Cody-"

He'd already made up his mind and walked towards the yellow egg, "Yolei…you know why I'm doing this. I swore that if I would do whatever it took to never feel that helpless again."

Biyomon mumbled to Gabumon about the boy looking familiar but neither digimon could place it. Cody was already placing both hands on the yellow egg and ready to lift it. As if put on the spot by the little boy, Yolei stepped forward to the other egg, "Alright, I'll go along with it…I still want out the first chance I get."

The two of them lifted the eggs together and watched the pedestals disappear into columns of red and purple light. From within the light, two shadow silhouettes emerged curled up into a ball. They unraveled together and leapt out simultaneously, startling everyone. The first was a small red bird with a white head and a black belt around his head. Fastened on the back by the belt was a crimson and yellow feather. The second was a yellow armadillo with pointed ears and a purple underbelly.

The hawk introduced itself first and spoke with a thick English accent, "Greetings! I am Hawkmon! It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Thank you for releasing me from the egg and letting me spread my wings."

The armadillo spoke second with a subtle American accent, "And I'm Armadillomon. Why'd you have to wake me? I was having such a good dream."

"Its nice to meet you, I'm Cody Hida," the little boy said with a bow, "I'm sorry for waking you up but it's unhealthy to be asleep this long."

"Oh wow!" Yolei dropped the egg immediately to hug the little hawk, "HE IS SO CUTE! OH MY GOSH! KARI! CAN YOU TAKE A PICTURE?"

The complete reversal in her attitude was surprising but not unexpected to either Cody or Kari who knew her to sometimes be fickle over anything she thought was cute. This included boys. Sora reminded the girl, "I know you're excited Yolei but we still have to get out of here."

"And since you have those eggs, your partners can digivolve!" Patamon added excitedly, "Which means we can fight back!"

"How do we do any of that?" Cody asked curiously.

"It's easy. There's two ways to go about it. The first is to show the trait of the crest on the egg," Armadillomon said. Kari added, "Just like Davis did yesterday! His had the crest of courage and he didn't even flinch when the Monochromon charged at him."

"Or he didn't realize that was a bad idea," Gabumon sighed.

"The other way is to say 'Digiarmor Energize!' and the digiegg will imbue us with its power," Hawkmon explained. TK put a hand to his head, "Oh good, because we need a digimon who can talk Izzy."

"Okay. Then we'll do it together, right Yolei?" Cody looked up at the girl who still held the hawk like a doll. She nodded enthusiastically, "If it gets us out of here then let's do it!"

Together, the two children held forth their digivices towards their digimon and shouted, "Digiarmor Energize!"

Their two digimon were enveloped in a bright light and were lifted off the floor.

"Hawkmon! Armor Digivolve to! Halsemon, the Wings of Love!"

"Armadillomon! Armor Digivolve to! Digmon, the Drill of Knowledge!"

The light faded away to show the new forms of their digimon. Hawkmon had grown in size and added two extra legs so that he resembled a massive gryphon. Over his head fit a helmet styled like the egg with the crest of love, through which a pair of red wings protruded. Armadillomon changed species entirely into large bipedal yellow insect with purple markings on his shell. Drills stood in place of where he should have had a nose and fingers on his arms.

Yolei's enthusiasm for her partner went away, seeing her cute digimon friend replaced with the proud warrior beast before her. Perhaps it broke the illusion of her partner's cute and adorable appearance and reminded her of the reason they were here. Cody remained indifferent to the change but did ask, "How do you breath without a nose? Or hold things without fingers?"

"The Digital World is an odd place Cody," Izzy explained, "Rules that you think should apply sometimes don't. And not everything behaves the way it should."

"So many new things," Cody mused, "I can tell that I have a lot to learn."

"And I'll be happy to help you along the way," Izzy said, patting the younger child on the shoulder. Cody agreed with a silent nod and thanked the older boy. Sora beamed excitedly and wished Yolei would share his enthusiasm, but knew better than to force it. It would take time for her and she would come around eventually.

"Okay, we don't have time to lose!" Digmon said, "Let's get out there and kick some digibutt!"

* * *

Davis opened his eyes to a splitting headache and realized the world was upside down - or rather he was. From what he could tell, he was in the forest surrounded by two large red dinosaurs that snapped and hissed angrily. He'd been tied and left to hang upside down from the branch of one those trees, rotating back and forth as the rope moved. Beside him was Veemon, caught up in a similar situation but jokingly asking, "Hey Davish! How'sh it hanging?"

"Veemon! Are you okay?" Davis asked of the little blue critter. He nodded, "I'm fine. Jusht hanging around!"

"How sentimental. Our two _heroes_ are finally awake and concerned only about each other's well being," a mocking voice said from before them. A boy no older that Davis with messy blue hair, wearing a skin tight blue spandex complete with matching cape, gloves, boots, belt and goggles. From his attire, Davis could immediately guess who it was - The Digimon Emperor. The boy jeered Davis and took the time to spin him around, "But we're on a time table and I don't want to waste any more than I have waiting on you to wake up. Drimogemon was punished for his indiscretion."

"What are you doing?" Davis shouted as he spun around, growing dizzy and in intense pain from the blood flow to his head. When he finally stopped spinning, the boy smirked, "I'm just making sure that there's enough blood in your head so you can answer my question: Where is the last Agent?"

"What agent?" Davis asked. The boy clicked his tongue disapprovingly, "I am your emperor and I demand you answer my question."

He spun Davis again in place, watching him with fascination before stopping the boy. Veemon spat out threats, "If I could digivolve, I'd come over there and-"

"Sorry, how were you going to do that without these?" the Emperor produced Davis's blue digivice and a D-Terminal from his pocket. Veemon growled until the Emperor pulled back his hand and punched the small digimon so hard that it swung back and forth like a swing. Davis shouted threats against the Emperor but only managed to make the boy laugh, "You're not in any position to be making threats against me. But I am and I demand you tell me where the last Agent is right now or I will feed you to the Tyrannomon!"

The red dinosaurs growled hungrily and Davis looked back and forth nervously, "I don't know what ancient thing your talking about or where to find it. Stop asking me that dumb question."

"You and I both know you had contact with him recently - the last Digital Agent," the emperor pointed out, producing a digivice from within his cape. Davis noticed that it did in fact look like his own but was black in color. On its screen were two red dots and a date - yesterday's date. Each red dot was marked - one with his name and the other with a random scribble of characters that couldn't possibly mean anything. The emperor pulled on Davis's hair to bring him to eye level and added, "Or if you prefer - The Digital Agent, Guardian of Destiny, Ancient, Forebear, Precursor, take your freaking pick! Where is The Digimon Tamer?"

Davis's eyes widened when it clicked in his mind and the emperor laughed, "I see. You didn't know. I wonder what else you don't know."

"I know you're a creep!" Davis spat back, "Let us go."

"More's the pity really. I need The Digimon Tamer and the digimon who have any clue where to find him choose to die before I can get a ring on them," the emperor smirked before looking over at Veemon, "Such loyalty. I wonder…maybe your digimon friend over there knows. First, I'll make him my slave. Then, I'll have him spill all the beans on The Digimon Tamer!"

"What!?" Davis and Veemon said together. Veemon quickly added, "But I don't know anything! Honesht!"

The emperor snapped his fingers to produce a black ring from behind him. Slowly, it spun its way towards Veemon who could only make an impassioned plea, "Oh come on. You could alwaysh ashk and I'd be happy to tell you anything I know. Sho why not jusht-"

"Mach Impulse!" A pair of lasers descended from the sky and burned the forest around them, startling the digimon emperor. The ground collapsed around them and a large yellow insect emerged from beneath the tree to supplant one of the red dinosaurs. The other one scanned the skies in search of the other attacker, breathing fire from its mouth to scorch the skies. In the confusion, Davis witnessed the digimon emperor walk away quietly - with his digivice and D-Terminal in hand. He shouted after the boy, "HEY! COME BACK HERE!"

He continued strolling away, indifferent to the burning forest around him and unflinching as some of the trees collapsed under their own weight. Davis scoffed but admitted, "That kid would almost be cool if he wasn't such a pric-"

"Davis! We're here to rescue you!" he heard Kari say from somewhere else. He was glad to be stuck this way so that she wouldn't be able to see his face. It was beet red from how happy he was to think she was coming to save him. Of course, that quickly turned to embarrassment since he always imagined himself coming to save her. Thankfully, hanging upside down may it look like it was just the blood rushing to his head. Veemon cheered, "Hey! It'sh great to shee you guysh!

"Hang on. Let me get you," he heard TK's voice say beside him, and his bindings came undone. He thanked TK just as he fell to the ground upon his head, grunting in pain and retracting his thanks.

"Tempest Wing!" a red gryphon descended through the trees, spinning around in a circle to produce a tornado. The force of impact kicked the red dinosaur into a tree and left him exposed long enough for Gatomon to run and swipe the dark ring on his tail. The yellow insect grappled with the other red dinosaur before pushing it back and leaping high into the air.

"Gold Rush!" The drills on its head and fingers fired away like missiles to strike the dinosaur. Each impact kicked the dinosaur back slightly until it was backed against a tree, leaving it open for the final missile to blow apart the dark ring. The two red dinosaurs collapsed on the ground, fatigued from over exertion and unsure about how they got where they were.

Kari kneeled down beside the boy to check on him, "Davis. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, who are they?" Davis pointed to the two new digimon who were now tearing apart the nearby control spire. Cody introduced them, "Halsemon and Digmon! Our digimon partners."

"Hey, alright!" Davis cheered, "That's awesome you guys!"

"Neat! Now we have new digimon friendsh!" Veemon smiled excitedly, letting Gabumon and Biyomon rip apart the ropes holding him down. Kari breathed a sigh of relief, "I'm just glad you two are okay. What happened?"

"Dude, the Digimon Emperor happened. He tried to make Veemon his slave after he kept asking me where the last ancient guardian thing was," Davis explained with a shrug. Veemon added, "Like we'd know what he wash even talking about!"

"The last ancient guardian thing?" Gomamon repeated with a raised eyebrow. Kari and TK swapped knowing glances while Sora exclaimed, "TAMER!"

"So Tai's not the bad guy," Kari put a hand to her chest and closed her eyes, a relaxed expression on her face. Izzy had to add, "We still can't be sure about that. Davis, what did the emperor look like?"

"Messed up hair, goggles, blue cape and clothes, and a digivice that was like…," Davis repeated the answer Elecmon said the day before, then paused when he remembered, "That's right! He has my digivice!"

"And the D-Terminal!" Veemon added, "I can't digivolve!"

"Which we did he go? If we hurry we can catch him!" Palmon said. Davis and Veemon pointed off into the forest, "He escaped as soon as you guys showed up. I have to admit, he looked cool walking into the fire but I probably would've done it better."

"We'll need everyone we can to even stand a chance," Gabumon pointed out, "We all have to go!"

Halsemon and Digmon arrived beside them as the control spire crumbled in the distance. Digmon asked, "Alright. That was fun. What's next?"

"We have to get back Davis's digivice," Yolei explained with a frustrated tone before adding, "When am I going to get out of here?"

"What's with you?" Davis asked the girl, wondering why she slumped down. Her expression soured and she snapped back, "I WANT TO GO HOME!"


	3. Light and Hope

They tracked the Digimon Emperor using Cody and Yolei's digivice. He hadn't gone far which meant they would be able to catch up quickly on foot if they moved quickly enough. The trek took them further into the thick wood than they thought it would, but a distant noise of thunder had them proceed more cautiously. As they crept along, the sound grew louder and resembled fighting. At the edge of the forest, they poked their out from behind a bush to see a coliseum dug into the ground. Within the arena, pairs of digimon under the control of the dark rings fought against each other in an attempt to leave one survivor. When one member of the pair killed the other, another would emerge to take their place.

Gotsumon, Koromon, Elecmon, Frigimon, Tyrannomon, Monzaemon, Unimon, and more. On the far side of the coliseum, a boy in a blue leotard and cape sat beside a small green caterpillar to watch the sight before him. The little green digimon would occasionally hand snacks and drinks to the boy as they watched the fight unfold. Davis clicked his tongue disapprovingly, "There he is!"

"It's not Tai," Kari frowned but quietly thankful that her brother hadn't gone off the deep end. Gatomon squinted, adding, "I'm not so sure of that. It may not look like him Ancients could always-"

"I can't take it," Davis growled and stood up, "That kid is sitting there all smug with my digivice! I'm going over there to-"

"Not yet Davis," Sora pulled the boy back down, "If he sicks all those digimon on us, we're in trouble."

"I feel awful just looking at it," Gabumon winced as he witnessed the fighting below, "How could anyone do this and not feel terrible about it?"

"It's like Myotismon all over again - only now he's a human," Gatomon leered at the boy on the far side of the coliseum, "There has to be a control spire around here somewhere. We destroy that and we can free the digimon."

"I can start looking," Halsemon said, "Yolei, come with me and-"

"Don't," Izzy threw up his hands to stop the digimon, "He's bound to spot you guys if you go. Let's be honest, a big red bird stands out. A small insect and pink bird would probably go unnoticed though."

"You want us to go?" Biyomon pointed at herself nervously, "You're kidding! We can't defend ourselves if we can't digivolve! Plus I'm pink! I stick out like a sore thumb!"

"With how small you guys are, you shouldn't have to," Izzy added, "No offense but he probably wont care about a bunch of rookies wandering around. You guys will be safe...probably."

"It's the _probably_ that worries me Izzy," Tentomon answered, only to receive assurances in place of the answer he was hoping to hear, "It'll be safe so long as you guys keep a low profile. When you find it, come back so that Digmon and Halsemon can take care of it."

"And what are the rest of us supposed to do until then? Sit around?" Davis asked impatiently. Sora reprimanded him, "We're just being careful Davis. You can understand that, right?"

"What I understand is that we're just standing around while there are digimon in danger!" Davis countered, "We're supposed to be the digidestined, right? The ones chosen to save the Digital World? Well we're not going to do that by just standing around."

"Tell you what; if Biyomon and Tentomon aren't back in ten minutes, then you can lead the charge in! How's that sound?" Gomamon suggested dryly, although Davis missed the sarcasm in his tone and agreed, "Alright! Sounds good to me."

* * *

The Digimon Emperor looked upon his entertainment with disdain that bordered on contempt. He didn't think it was dull; rather he didn't even care that it was there. His mind was still on the digidestined he'd encountered before - the boy who seemed clueless about why he was there. The Emperor briefly contemplated if he was in fact the Digital Agent he'd been looking for - messy hair, goggles, relatively dumb clothes. It was a stretch but it wasn't far from the truth, and stories did indicate that the Digimon Tamer would play dumb if it served him and would recruit others with him.

He dismissed these thoughts as he assured himself that wasn't the case because of the digivice. He examined the blue digivice he'd stolen from the boy and concluded it was unlikely for The Tamer to acquire another partner. Not when his current one was in trouble. He looked over to his own partner sitting beside him - a little green digimon called Wormmon. Wormmon's name was misleading since he resembled a caterpillar with pincers more closely than he resembled a worm. Still, the Emperor appreciated his partner all the same - he was the one who'd stuck with him through every adventure since he first became a digidestined. Even after all the time, the memories of loss, suffering, betrayal, and rage burned inside him. It would be enough to make anyone insane but he assured himself he wasn't. His methods were cruel but they weren't inessential. Whatever it took, that was what he reminded himself.

Suddenly, his own digivice beeped and he examined it carefully. The screen indicated that there were several other digivices nearby on the edge of the coliseum. The thought angered him as he realized that the _other_ digidestined had come to interrupt him. On the other hand, this presented an opportunity for him to gather some information on how much they knew. His partner must've sense his unease and asked, "Ken, what's wrong?"

He clicked his tongue disapprovingly, "That's not my name anymore Wormmon. Address me correctly."

Wormmon's eyes saddened and he corrected himself, "My emperor, what's wrong?"

"The other digidestined are here," he stood up and casually made his way towards the exit, "Let's go give them a little greeting."

"Should I roll out the red carpet or the Tyrannomon?" Wormmon asked carefully, following along. He smiled deviously and answered, "Neither. I think it's time to play my trump card."

* * *

Biyomon and Tentomon returned from their scouting trip having learned the location of the nearest control spire. Davis pumped the air excitedly, "Alright, let's go punch a hole in that thing."

"I shtill can't digivolve Davish," Veemon reminded his partner. Kari added with a giggle, "At least he's motivated."

Sora messed up the boy's hair, "Sometimes, that's all you need. Come on, let's go destroy that tower and-"

"And what? Free all the digimon that I've enslaved?"

Everyone spun around to see the Digimon Emperor standing before them, accompanied by the little green worm digimon who sat beside him at the coliseum. The mood soured immediately and Gatomon hissed, "It's him! It's the Emperor! Quick, get him!"

Just as the digimon were about to pile on him, he snapped his fingers. A loud echoing roar came from somewhere nearby, close enough that it gave them all pause and familiar enough that all but the new digidestined stopped in fear. Kari gasped, "It can't be."

He smiled, "It can and is. But I'm not going to start a fight. Not yet, anyway. It all depends on what happens next. I'm assuming that you're digidestined too. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here."

"Yeah, we're the digidestined! We're here to stop you and your reign of terror!" Davis pointed out angrily, "And this time, we're the ones who outnumber you!"

The emperor shook his head and massaged his temple, "Okay, he's useless. Is there someone else in your group I can talk to - literally anyone else? Preferably someone smart. He's kind of an idiot."

"He's not dumb!" Kari said in his defense. TK chimed in, "Why are you doing this anyway?"

"The answer is simple. The digidestined are the children chosen to save the Digital World. I'm doing my job - saving it," the emperor answered clearly. The answer was far from what they'd expected and caught them mostly off guard. Izzy tried to process it, "Wait, wait. You're a digidestined? But...how? When?"

"Easy. I have a digivice and since I was about a year or two ago," the emperor replied, producing his digivice from his pocket. Gomamon didn't buy into his claim and countered, "Yeah, if you can call enslaving digimon and making them kill each other 'saving', sure. Good job with that."

"Your sarcasm is noted," the emperor started pacing around them with his worm digimon in tow behind him, "Why not join me? I may be smart but I can only do so much on my own. Work with me, together we can all save the Digital World."

"You keep saying that. How exactly are you saving the Digital World?" Cody demanded, "All I see are digimon being forced to fight against each other to the death."

"I'm saving the Digital World by doing what literally no one else seems to be bothered to do! I'm imposing law and order!" the emperor snapped back, "Digimon who fall into line are spared and can live a free life in my new world. Digimon who don't fall into line are better off being enslaved or killed. Like the digimon back there - they're thieves, murderers, rebels. Really, it's a good system. Think about it - a Digital World without war, or sorrow, or loss, or violence, because they don't fight each other over the stupidest things. And the ones who want to do nothing but that are literally made to do nothing but that. A Digital World where digimon don't decide to go into another world to kill everything in sight. Isn't that just beautiful?"

"It's awful when all the digimon are being enslaved!" Biyomon countered. The emperor nodded and bowed, "I confess, there is more resistance to my new order than I anticipated but the vision is the same - to create a safe world. A dream of that design requires sacrifices, but it's all for the greater good."

"This world that you're talking sounds like it's full of crap," TK added, surprising everyone again, "I mean come on. The Digital World you're talking about is one where almost every digimon is getting enslaved because next to none of them are choosing to 'fall in line'. So what have you got? A Digital World where most of the digimon are enslaved and the few who aren't enslaved are probably too scared to do anything about it. They wouldn't feel safe, they'd just be slaves like the rest of them."

"And the Digital World would be safe, finally knowing true peace. That dream is worth achieving, by any means necessary!" the emperor mused, "I will do what the Ancients wouldn't! I will make the Digital World a safer and better place, a perfect utopia."

"Ancients? What do you know about the Ancients?" Kari asked anxiously. TK, Izzy, and Sora knew Kari would want any information she could to find her brother again. They were just as curious but weren't sure she would be able to handle and bad news he had to offer. The emperor chuckled, "Oh! It looks like at least one of you knows about them. Well that saves me some trouble. Tell you what, let's play a game. I ask a question, you give an answer. For every question you answer, I'll answer one back. Deal?"

"Deal," Kari answered before they even had a chance to think about it, "Where's Tai!?"

"Tut tut," the emperor wagged a finger towards the girl mockingly, "Did you forget? You only get answers _after_ I do. First, where's the last Ancient? Where is the Digimon Tamer?"

"You asked us Kari's question back? That's kinda dumb," TK frowned, scratching the back of his head. Sora shushed him and responded, "We don't know. To be honest, we thought you were the Digimon Tamer for a while. All we ever heard about 'The Digimon Emperor' was that he had bad hair, goggles, and weird clothes. That sounds just like him."

"Hmm, I suppose that does make sense," the emperor mused, inspecting his clothes carefully, "Wormmon, remind me to get a new change of clothes."

"Yes, your emperorness, sir," the little worm beside him bowed. Now it was the digidestined's turn so Izzy asked, "Okay, it's our turn now. Why do you want The Tamer?"

"Isn't it obvious? There are thousands of the their relics and ruins scattered around the Digital World. Weapons of mass destruction, tools that rewrite reality, devices that grant the power over life and death! Imagine a world where you could bring back the ones you lost," the emperor mused, "But the only one with the knowledge of how to use any of them is The Digimon Tamer. I have so many toys and no clue how to use any of them. Hence, I need him."

Armadillomon looked to his partner and noted the inquisitive look in his partner's eye. TK saw the same look in Kari and Sora, and mentioned, "Guys, whatever you're thinking...don't."

"Now it's my turn and this is a good question - why not join me? I can tell just by seeing the looks in your eyes. I've seen that look before. We could bring back the dead. You've lost something and we can use this power to make it right," the emperor mentioned, beginning to pace around the group. Cody suddenly found his shoes more interesting while Kari continued looking on anxiously. To TK's relief, Sora shook her head, "No. We'd never go that far."

"Which begs the question: what happened to you to make you do this?" Palmon asked the emperor. The emperor stopped walking so abruptly that Wormmon bumped into him from behind. His fist tightened and he turned on the digidestined, "Never you mind. Are you joining me or not?"

"That no was final," Sora countered. Most of their group mirrored that sentiment and the emperor clicked his tongue, "So be it. I don't need enemies to my rule so I'll just eliminate you now and be done with it. SKULLGREYMON!"

They heard another roar and felt the earth shake. Trees parted as if fleeing in terror, giving way to a massive skeletal monstrosity with piercing green eyes and a fleshy appendage on its back. The creature stooped down so they could better observe its reptilian features, and it let out an ear deafening roar. Upon both appendages were dark rings and across its neck was another one resembling a spiral. The digidestined froze as it confirmed something they'd feared and Davis stammered, "WHAT THE CRAP IS THAT THING!?"

"SkullGreymon, although he used to be the partner of the Last Ancient. Now, he's just another slave," the emperor boasted with a thin smile, "SkullGreymon! Sick!"

"RUN!" TK shouted, waiting to be sure everyone was running before going as well. The digidestined and their digimon took off at a sprint while the two champions on their side tried to hold him back. Digmon and Halsemon's first instinct was to tackle the digimon but all it did was make them easier to swat away into nearby trees. The two champions stood back up, Halsemon remarked, "He's the size of a building."

"And he hits like a truck!" Digmon stumbled as he stood back up. Gatomon shouted back at the two champions, "Don't just stand there! Run!"

"He'll squash you guys like bugs!" Tentomon added in terror. As the digidestined ran, Davis bitterly complained, "Dammit! If I had my digivice, Veemon could just digivolve and take this guy out!"

"Don't worry Davish! We'll get it back! Let'sh jusht do shome leg work for now," Veemon lisped, "Get you in shape!"

Amidst the running, Cody and Yolei's digivices started beeping again. They both examined it and said, "It says there's something just ahead of us but it's not saying what. There's two of them too!"

"Maybe it's more digidestined?" Palmon gasped, "We could really use some right about now."

"There's no way we'll be able to go near it with this thing after us," Sora looked over her shoulder at SkullGreymon stomping after them and throwing the forest aside with ease. She looked to the younger digidestined and called out, "TK, Kari, Patamon, Gatomon! You guys go with Cody to check out what it is. The rest of us will try to keep SkullGreymon's attention!"

"Are you nuts!?" Biyomon shouted, "Sora, I know it's been years but don't tell me you went crazy like Tamer!"

"A little bit," Sora grunted back with a forced smile, "But I bet we could lure SkullGreymon into destroying the control spire. That would make our problem go away."

"I hope this works," Gatomon grunted, "Good luck!"

She led the way for their group to split away while Biyomon and Tentomon led the rest of them towards the control spire. They looked back once to make sure the others were okay but they had already disappeared behind SkullGreymon's body as he went for the larger group. The thundering foot steps and roars of the mad skeleton faded in the distance as they moved further away. Cody asked, "They'll be okay, right?"

"They'll be fine. Sora knows what she's doing," TK replied, "How much further?"

"It should be just ahead," Cody said as they emerged through the forest to find a cave before them. The crevice led down into the ground, yet a soft glow of light beckoned them inside. The unmistakable golden and pink hues seemed to call to himself and Kari specifically. He looked over at the girl who appeared nervous and took her hand to assure her, "Scared?"

"No," Kari shook her head, "Just...uneasy. This cave gives me the creeps."

"Isn't that the same thing?" Patamon asked. Cody chimed in, "I hate to ruin this moment but we do have to find out what's making this signal and I don't know how long they can keep SkullGreymon distracted out there."

TK nodded his agreement and led the way, unaware that he was still holding Kari's hand. Kari went along sheepishly, holding on to TK slightly closer than she should have and unaware that their two digimon were snickering behind them. Within, they found two eggs emanating the source of light. The first resembled a pair of wrapped golden wings with hooves at its base and bore the crest of hope upon it. The second had the crest of light and resembled silver wings wrapped around golden claws. TK released Kari's hand and approached it, "Hey! It's the crest of hope! And the crest of light."

"Who do you think these are for? It better not be the emperor," Gatomon shivered. The mere thought of that boy having more power than he already did he was nerve wracking. TK gestured at Cody, "Why not give it a try?"

"Here goes," Cody replied, grabbing the golden egg first and the silver egg next. Neither budged no matter how hard he pulled. He fell backwards after attempting to move them again and grunted, "It's not working."

"I don't think it's for you," Kari admitted quietly, drawing closer to the silver egg and placing a hand upon it, "I think it's meant for us."

"What makes you say that Kari?" TK asked. She could only offer a shrug, "I don't know. It...feels like it's calling to me, y'know."

He looked down at the golden egg and at the crest of hope. He didn't feel the same calling she felt but considered at least trying to pull on it. If it didn't work, they'd have to find the digidestined meant to take it later. Before he knew it, both of them took hold of the eggs and lifted them without any effort. A pillar of light erupted from beneath them, then jumped to their digivices. The old tools shook as they glowed before morphing to match Cody's digivice. Kari's took a pink grip while his was green.

They barely had the chance to admire the change when the lights conjoined between where the two eggs rested to create the ghostly image of a teen boy with fiery brown hair, a blue coat, goggles and a cheeky grin. The digimon there marveled, "Whoa."

"Who is that?" Cody asked.

"It's The Digimon Tamer!" TK answered.

"It's my brother," Kari mumbled as she looked upon her brother. He was older now; so much that she wondered if he'd even remember her. Although it was just an image, he looked directly at her and began, "Hey Kari. Long time, no see. I'm kind of in a bind right now so I don't have a lot of time to make this message. WarGreymon can only hold them off so long. Short version: the Digital World is in trouble again and we can't do it on our own. You probably have a lot of questions. In order: we'll probably still be fine by the time you get this message, we've been back for a while and we're sorry for not talking sooner, the digieggs are here to help you subvert the influence of the control spires, and we won't be able to help any of you more than this."

Kari's expression saddened when she heard that last part. As if knowing what to do, the ghostly apparition raised out his hand and put it through her neck. It didn't hurt, but it did startle her. He added, "Hey. Don't be too upset. You guys got this...okay, to be honest, I don't actually know how tall you will be when you get this. I think you'll be about where my hand is but hopefully it doesn't take you guys that long to get here. And if it does, then I just put my foot in my mouth...but it really shouldn't take you that long to begin with and I'm being rude aren't I?"

Kari giggled as her brother face palmed, "Right. Try to be kind Tamer, try to be kind. Any way, good luck Kari."

He looked off to his side nervously and added, "You can do this. I believe in you."

The ghostly image vanished, leaving Kari with a content smile on her face. TK always felt smiles were better suited to her face. He looked at the egg in his hand, then to his partner, "Ready to try out the new digivolution?"

"You bet," Patamon nodded, "I was getting jealous of the new digimon."

"I was starting to worry that we'd end up the cheering from sidelines," Gatomon agreed, "Let's go get them."

TK and Kari held out the digieggs and exchanged glances once, both smiling confidently, "Digiarmor energize!"

The digieggs enveloped them with light, transforming them into quadrupedal flying digimon. Pegasusmon resembled his namesake but adorned in golden armor over his orange mane. Nefertimon resembled a white sphinx in silver armor with wings.

"Patamon! ArmorDigivolve to! Pegasusmon, Flying Hope!"

"Gatomon! ArmorDigivolve to! Nefertimon, the Angel of Light!"

Both bowed before their partners and said, "Climb on."

"Nefertimon! You look just as good as always!" Kari complemented her partner while stroking her mane. TK patted Pegasusmon's head and hugged it, "I always wondered what it'd be like to fly around on your back Patamon, but I imagined it as Angemon. Not this."

"Well now's your chance to go live the dream," Cody reminded the both of them, "We have to go save the others."

* * *

Sora pushed Izzy and Davis down to the ground just as another explosion rocked the forest. Their digimon were trying to bait SkullGreymon into striking the control spire but all they managed to do was make themselves sitting ducks. In a remarkable display of self control that they didn't think SkullGreymon could possess beneath its mindless rage, it swatted at their digimon until they came too close to the spire. Then it would step away from the tower and draw them towards it.

"I thought SkullGreymon was just mindless muscle," Sora commented, watching Biyomon circle around the spire from above in an attempt to call it back. Izzy added, "I guess he's got some brains in that skull of his."

"Was...was that a joke?" Sora asked, looking at him.

"WHO CARES? I JUST WANT TO GO HOME!" Yolei shouted, "This isn't what I wanted!"

"He's too strong!" Halsemon circled overhead, making another pass at the skeletal beast. He was trying to distract so Digmon could level the spire himself, but that only made SkullGreymon more furious. The digital monster growled and decided to drive them back with with his howling maul.

"Don't get too close to him!" Biyomon warned, "He'll end you in one hit!"

"We should probably move before he notices us," Izzy added, pointing out the fact that SkullGreymon loomed over them to cast a giant shadow on them from above. Sora motioned for them to follow her and they tried to sneak away, allowing their digimon to draw the bulk of his attention. Unfortunately, Yolei managed to trip over tree root and fell with a loud grunt. The noise caught SkullGreymon's attention and he faced her with murder in its cold dead eyes. Yolei screamed in a panic, "He sees us!"

"Run!" Davis shouted, grabbing Yolei and trying to pull her along. She was frozen in terror, unable to get off the ground and staring into SkullGreymon's eyes as he brought his massive hand down to crush her. Halsemon dove into his path, to ram his arm and was swatted away with ease. Yolei screamed in panic as he crashed into the ground nearby, "Halsemon! No!"

Yolei finally found the strength to move and ran to her injured partner as he regressed back to Hawkmon. SkullGreymon followed her specifically while the other digidestined and digimon tried to draw SkullGreymon's attention back to them. None of it worked and they were mocked by the Digimon Emperor as he arrived riding upon the back of a blue serpent with red wings. The emperor laughed and held a megaphone up to his mouth, "I suggest you give it up. Once SkullGreymon has his prey in sight, nothing can save them. Why not just do yourselves a favor as well - lay down and die. It'll make it easier for everyone."

"No way! We're not just going to let you do whatever you want! We're going to stop you!" Davis shouted at the top of his lungs. The emperor frowned at him from above and said, "I can't hear you."

"What?" Davis shouted.

"I can't hear you," the emperor replied, "I have a megaphone. You don't and you're all the way down there. I have no idea what you're saying."

"I said we're going to stop you!" Davis shouted even louder.

"I literally CANNOT hear you," the emperor said, "Get louder or shut up!"

"WE WILL STOP YOU!" Davis shouted so loudly that he went hoarse at the end. The emperor rolled his eyes and growled, "Screw it. SkullGreymon! Kill them!"

"Looks like we're done for," Izzy said in silent resignation, "Guys, it's been fun."

"Don't tell me you're giving up!" Sora confronted the boy. Davis agreed, "She's right! We're not quitting now!"

"What else can we do? We're not going to out run SkullGreymon and it's not like we have any hope of beating him," Yolei sputtered out, "Let's face it! We're dead."

"Golden Noose!"

A golden pegasus and a silver sphinx flew over their heads, connected to each other by the golden light. The two digimon used this golden light to ram SkullGreymon and drag him away from the digidestined. The emperor scowled, "What just happened?"

"It's Kari!" Davis cheered when he saw her riding the sphinx, then frowned when he saw TK on the pegasus, "And…TJ."

"TK," Gabumon corrected, "Look! Isn't that Cody on there with him?"

SkullGreymon struggled against his bindings but couldn't gain enough leverage to throw it off and was dragged further away from the spire. Digmon saw an opportunity and went after the control spire again, using his drills to dig into its side and tunneling out the other side. The tower cracked and exploded into a thousand pieces, turning to data and vanishing. The emperor scowled, "You fools! Do you realize what you've done!?"

Just as he finished, the blue serpentine digimon he rode upon threw him off with a shake of his head. In that moment, the emperor dropped both Davis's digivice and D-Terminal. His worm partner fell along side him, reaching out towards the boy, "K...my emperor!"

"Wormmon! Digivolve! Get us out of here!" the emperor shouted, pointing his digivice at the worm. In a flash of light, the worm turned into a large green bug that grabbed the emperor and started flying away. None of that mattered to the rest of the digidestined. Davis especially ran with Veemon and moved around to catch the digivice and D-Terminal before they broke on the ground. With hands outstretched, Davis closed his eyes as the digivice came into full view and smacked him on the head, "OW!"

It bounced off his head into Veemon's hands, "Finally! I got your digivishe Davish!"

"Great," he grumbled, massaging the red spot on his head.

Another loud roar brought all of their attention back to SkullGreymon. With a loud crack, the golden light connecting the sphinx and the pegasus broke apart. The skeleton leapt back onto its feet and roared a blood curdling scream before destroying forest in every direction. The earth shook with each uprooted tree and every step until the monster went off in a run. The pegasus and sphinx tried to attack it again, creating another chain of light between them to drag the rampaging digimon back down.

"They're going to need help!" Sora said, raising her digivice up, "Are you ready Izzy?"

"As long as our digimon are!" Izzy added. Davis punched the air, "Of course they're ready!"

"Let's get in there and give them a knock out punch," Veemon cheered.

Their two partners hopped forward and Biyomon exclaimed, "Finally! No more sidelines for us! Let's digivolve!"

"Biyomon! Digivolve to! Birdramon!"

"Tentomon! Digivolve to! Kabuterimon!"

"Veemon! Armor Digivolve to! Flamedramon, the Fire of Courage!"

"Birdramon! Digivolve to! Garudamon!"

"Kabuterimon! Digivolve to! MegaKabuterimon!"

The newer digidestined marveled at their older counterparts' partners. Sora cheered her partner excitedly, "Alright Garudamon! Let's show them how we did it back in the day!"

"You're making us sound old," Gomamon commented.

Garudamon and MegaKabuterimon took to the skies to aid the other digimon, taking hold of SkullGreymon and attempting to pin it back to the ground. Flamedramon ran along the ground beneath them and tackled the skeletal figure's leg, knocking it off balance. Against the four digimon holding it at once, the skeleton seemed to give but only for a moment. In an instant, it took a step forward to steady itself and threw all four of them off its body with ease. MegaKabuterimon put some distance between him and told the others, "We'll need more than just brute strength to take him down."

"What would Tai do!?" Kari gasped. An idea came to TK and he grinned, "Make him mad! Pegasusmon! Hit him with everything you've got!"

"Star Shower!" the pegasus spread his wings, raining a hail of meteors on to SkullGreymon from above. MegaKabuterimon groaned, "This is the opposite of what I said!"

"Were trying to make him mad!" TK explained, which threw MegaKabuterimon off, "You mean he wasn't mad enough!?"

TK rolled his eyes, "Just do it! Everyone! Attack SkullGreymon!"

The sphinx followed and fired a beam of light from her headdress, "Cat's Eye Beam!"

"Wing Blade!"

"Horn Buster!"

"Flame Fist!"

"Gold Rush!"

The attacks hit their mark and pushed SkullGreymon back. He leered at his attackers and returned the sentiment by dropping to all fours so the organic missile on its back could open its maw. With a deep guttural voice, SkullGreymon roared, "DaRk ShOt!"

The missile launched forward, throwing itself at the four digimon in the air. TK patted his partner's mane, "We have to get out of here!"

"You don't have to tell me twice," the horse repeated, flying away as fast as he could. The other digimon followed suit, trying to put as much distance as possible between them and the missile. Its speed was to be commended as it gained on them quickly. TK couldn't help but smile as his plan played out, "Pegasusmon! Turn around! Go back to SkullGreymon!"

Cody seemed to realize what he was thinking and asked, "TK, isn't that...extreme?"

TK answered by giving him a thumbs up, "Pretty much. Let's go Pegasusmon!"

"Everyone! Follow TK!" Kari added. All four flying digimon turned in the air towards SkullGreymon. The skeleton growled in anticipation, ready to destroy them all at once until they scattered at the last instant with the missile still pursuing them. SkullGreymon seemed to realize what was happening and took hold of the missile before it impacted, doing all it could to hold the edge of the fleshy organ back. The organ opened its toothy jaw and smiled, as if to mock its own master. To everyone else, it only meant one thing, "Run!"

Garudamon and MegaKabuterimon swooped down to grab everyone they could, while Flamedramon carried Davis off. Davis was confused and asked, "Wait a minute! What's going on? Why are we running!?"

"Is he really asking that question?" Digmon asked, hurrying as fast as his legs would carry him.

The organ exploded just inches from SkullGreymon's face, and they felt the force knock them all forward to the ground. A dust cloud followed, shrouding them in debris and leaving them all in suspense. As the dust settled, they could see the clear horizon and SkullGreymon's absence. Nefertimon shook her body and stretched her wings, Kari still clinging to her back and worried for their friend, "Is he okay?"

"I don't know," Nefertimon answered, "There's only one way to find out."

* * *

The digidestined circled back to the crater to find a smoldering hole where SkullGreymon had been moments before. In the center was a small orange dinosaur lying flat on his back. Kari gasped and ran to the unconscious rookie as soon as Nefertimon landed. The others arrived at the same time and their partners regressed to their rookie forms, crowding around the unconscious dinosaur. Kari shook the rookie to try and stir him, "Agumon? Agumon! Are you okay?"

"It's no good. He's out cold," Gabumon observed, "We need to get somewhere safe. The emperor could be back any time with another spire and more dark rings."

"He's right. Not to mention it's getting late. Our parents will be looking for us soon," Izzy replied, "We should head back for now."

"Will you guys be okay?" Sora asked their digimon. Biyomon nodded, "Completely. The emperor doesn't come out at night, remember? He only shows up in the early morning and the afternoon."

"Huh, so he's afraid of the dark and the sun," Davis mused. Yolei looked at Hawkmon still in her arms and whimpered, "Who cares. Let's just get out of here. I need to get Hawkmon to a hospital!"

Sora dismissed that idea quickly and explained, "That's probably not a good idea Yolei. Who knows what the hospital will do if a digimon just shows up."

"A vet then! I didn't want to come here and get mixed up in this. And now Hawkmon is hurt! He needs help," Yolei replied quickly. Sora took hold of the girl more firmly and added, "Believe me, I know how you feel. But digimon are tougher than they seem. Just let him have a good night's rest and he'll be fine."

"I'm still not leaving him here," Yolei insisted, "He's coming back to our world with me!"

Sora frowned, quietly wanting to bring Biyomon back with her but unsure of how to accomplish that. Veemon chose this time to ask, "Can I come too? I want to shee the Real World!"

"Me too!" Armadillomon answered, "I think it'd be a good ol' place for a nap."

"Yeah! I say you guys can totally come!" Davis said excitedly. Izzy reprimanded them, "We need to be careful if we do this guys. Our digimon will draw a lot of attention in the Real World."

"It'll be fine," Davis said. TK looked at Patamon, wishing to bring him to the Real World too. It'd been so long since he'd seen him that he didn't want to have to leave him behind again. Throwing caution to the wind, TK said, "Why not? Let's bring them to our world."

"But what about Agumon?" Kari looked up at the rest of them, worrying for the little dinosaur. Gabumon strode up to him with Palmon, lifting him up together, "Don't worry! We can watch him once we get somewhere safe."

"Is that alright?" Sora asked her partner. The little pink bird nodded, "Yeah. It'll be fine. Just promise you guys will be back tomorrow."


	4. Rivals on the Field

They left their digimon to rest in the cave where they'd found the digieggs before returning to the Real World. Like yesterday, they returned in a tangled mess on the floor of the computer lab. Everyone groaned and complained about how this always happened to them. As Sora regained her senses, she felt a hand go somewhere it shouldn't and shouted, "Hey! Who is that?"

"Sorry! It's me!" Gatomon apologized, "Does this always happen? It hurts!"

"More than it should honestly," TK answered as he crawled out from the bottom of the pile. A little blue imp hopped past and spoke in little chirps, "Oh boy! Is this the Real World? Everything is so big!"

"Veemon? Is that you?" Davis gasped when he looked at his partner, picking up the small creature. It cheered, "Wow! And you got bigger too!"

"What happened to you, pal?" Davis asked. The creatures giggled, "I'm DemiVeemon! Veemon is my digivolved form."

"I guess that explains what happened to Armadillomon," Cody picked up a little yellow ball with feathered ears and puffy cheeks. The little ball smiled, "Actually, it's Upamon now!"

"Oh my gosh!" Yolei gasped when she finally looked at her partner in her arms, noting that he was now a small pink ball of feathers with wings and a single red feather pointed up from the back of his head. She turned her partner every which way, "He's okay, right?"

"Not if you keep shaking him like that," Sora said, taking Yolei's hands in her own to calm her down while she still held the little pink ball. She took a deep breath and sighed, "I need to go."

"Yolei, wait," Cody tried to reason with his friend but she was out the door before any of them could do anything. Sora followed after her and assured the others, "I'll go talk to her."

"Good luck," Izzy nodded, while she went after Yolei. He looked at the time on the clock and suggested to the rest of them, "We should probably all go home too."

"Remember guys, you all have to pretend to be dolls," TK reminded the little digimon as he picked up Patamon. Upamon protested, "That's no fair, why does Gatomon get to walk?"

"Because unlike you guys, I actually pass for a cat in the human world," Gatomon boasted proudly as she dropped to all fours and started mewling. DemiVeemon mumbled something that made Gatomon hiss, resulting in the blue imp flinching in terror. Kari giggled and petted her partner, "Just remember that cats don't talk in this world, Gatomon."

Her cat partner meowed and started leading the way home. When they got outside, Davis looked at the brunette girl excitedly and asked, "So Kari, are you coming to my game tomorrow?"

"Wouldn't miss it," Kari smiled, which had Davis's heart skip a beat and had him jumping joyfully. His excitement was expected but it left TK curious, "Game?"

"Davis has a soccer game tomorrow," Kari explained, "His team is up for regionals, no matter whether they win or lose the next game. It's good since the team they're up against is undefeated right now. They have that genius kid on their team, the one who's book smart and really athletic."

"Mind if I come along?" Izzy asked, a question that left them all stumped. He sensed their surprise and added, "Not for the sports. For the genius. Am I correct in assuming you're referring to Ken Ichijouji? He's supposed to be a child prodigy - his IQ is north of 200. I've been following his story for a while. He showed up a few months after we went to the Digital World the first time and has been setting records ever since. I'd love a chance to get to meet him."

"Yeah, he's all hype," Davis smirked, "We'll see how great he is after I beat him in a game of soccer."

"Cody, what's soccer?" Upamon asked, "I want to see. Can we go too?"

"Me too!" DemiVeemon asked from Davis's arms. Patamon hissed, "Guys! You're supposed to be dolls!"

"You're all supposed to be dolls," Gatomon hissed quietly, "Keep quiet."

"I don't see a problem with all of us going," TK nodded, "So why not? Let's all go watch Davis kick butt at soccer tomorrow."

"Alright!" their digimon cheered, only to be shushed by Gatomon again. She sighed, "I really hope my first litter doesn't end up like this."

* * *

"Yolei, wait!" Sora shouted again as she finally caught up with the girl at the park outside school. Yolei was out of breath from trying to run, but wasn't in the physical shape necessary to outrun someone athletic like Sora. She still had her partner tucked under her arms, unconscious from the battle earlier that day. In between gasps for breath, Yolei said, "Please...Sora...leave me...alone...I don't...want...to be...a digi...destined."

"Yolei, I know how you feel," Sora began, "Believe me, I do-"

"Then why won't you leave me alone!?" Yolei asked angrily, using all of her breath on that one question and desperately gasping for more air. Sora paused, seeing the frustration and tears in the girl's eyes. After everything Yolei said, she had an idea on what might be wrong. She asked, "Was it scary? What happened years ago?"

"What?"

Sora clarified, being as gentle in tone as she could, "During Myotismon's invasion. It must have been terrifying, watching all those monsters destroy the city and watching so many people get hurt. Or worse."

"No fucking shit, Sora," Yolei grunted, taking Sora aback with the language. But Sora pressed on any way, "We were scared too. When we first went to the Digital World, all we wanted was to go home too. We didn't want anything to do with it either, but we got roped along."

"And why didn't you just walk away?" Yolei demanded, "No one was forcing you to do it!"

"Because Myotismon decided to invade the Real World and destroyed part of Tokyo - to put all those people in danger. Our family, our friends, everyone was going to die because of one bad digimon," Sora explained, somehow making Yolei fall silent with surprise. She saw that she finally had Yolei's attention, "We were scared, but we realized that we had to stop him or else he would harm a lot of people. It's the same thing for you - you can walk away if you want. But a lot of people will be hurt if you're not there to help."

"What about and Davis and Cody and the rest of you?" Yolei asked, "Why don't you guys do it?"

"We'd love to. There are others like us and we all want to do something, but we can't on our own. Not anymore. Not as long as those control spires prevent our digimon from digivolving. We need your help to make sure no one else gets hurt," Sora pleaded with the girl. Who took a step back, "I don't want to."

Sora wished she wouldn't have to do what she was about to do but knew it was the only way she could reason with the girl, "Think about your family. Your parents...your siblings. Everyone you care about. You're the only one who can protect them."

Yolei shook her head fearfully, "I don't want this. I don't want to fight!"

She took off and sprinted as fast as she could. Sora was about to go after her but decided against it, realizing it would be better to let the girl go for now. Hopefully, she would come around and join them. It was just a matter of that time coming sooner rather than later. Footsteps behind her made her realize the others had finally caught up. Cody commented, "That went about as well as expected."

"Is she always like this?" Sora asked. Cody didn't answer but Davis took the time to mention, "Little bit. She always freaks out over the dumbest things."

"You two don't exactly get along," Kari pointed out for the rest of them, taking the time to bring up Davis and Yolei's less than friendly history. She made sure to stress that neither of them hated each other, they just didn't get along or share any interests. Izzy knew the girl better and explained, "She doesn't have the fondest of opinions on digimon after what happened a few years back. To be honest, she needs time to ease into something. Throwing it at her all at once may just overwhelm her. It'll take a while, but I think she'll come around eventually."

Sora watched the girl disappear around the street corner, hoping it wouldn't take long for her to come around.

* * *

When Yolei got home that night, the first thing she did was go to her room. Her partner hadn't stirred once in the whole time and she began to worry that he might be dead. What could she do, though? She couldn't help him but she couldn't leave him either. When she heard a knock at the bedroom door, she quickly placed her partner next to all her dolls in time for her older sister to come in.

Chizuru was about the same age as Sora and Izzy, with short cut orange hair and round glasses that magnified her eyes. She glanced at Yolei once and asked, "Hey, you okay? You're gone for most of the day and then you just run in here without so much as a hello."

"I'm fine," Yolei said, adjusting her glasses so she could wipe away tears in her eyes. Chizuru's eyes narrowed suspiciously and she sat down on the bed, "Yeah, I don't buy it. What's up? It's not a boy problem is it? Let me guess. You told a boy you liked him and got shot down."

"It's not that," Yolei said angrily, "Just leave me alone."

All she wanted was for her sister to leave but she wouldn't. Chizuru adjusted her seat and folded her hands, "Okay, what's going on?"

"Why do you care?" Yolei hissed almost angrily.

"Let's see," her sister put a hand to her chin and listed off the reasons, "You came home late and locked yourself in your room. You're clearly upset, not to mention the tears. And you're crazy defensive right now. Yolei, I'm your sister. You can talk to me."

"I...just want to be alone," Yolei said, trying to pull her sister off the bed, "Just go."

"Yolei," Chizuru stopped and asked, "You're not...bleeding, are you?"

"EW! NO!" Yolei pulled her sister off the bed and started pushing her towards the door, "Get out! I want to be alone! GO!"

She ushered her sister out the door who was now joking, "Oh my gosh! You are, aren't you? It makes sense! The bad mood, wanting to be alone and locking yourself in the bedroom. It's okay, Yolei. We're both girls. We can talk about this. Look, I'll go get some ice cream and we can-"

"No! No! Shut up!" Yolei finally managed to push her outside and slammed the door on her, locking it and pushing a chair against the handle. Her sister was still trying to talk to her but she had tuned her out by this point. She walked over to the bedroom and flopped back down on to it - her eyes still on her partner lying unconscious beside her. His body expanded and shrank rhythmically with each breath he drew. The expression on his face was peaceful despite the beating he'd taken earlier against the skeletal monster. It brought back memories of nearly being eaten by one of the large monstrous digimon years before.

A single question came to mind: why her? Why was she the one to take this responsibility that she didn't want? All she wanted was to be a normal girl with a normal life. Why did she have to deal with this?

She just now felt the fatigue of the day sink in and her eyes grow heavy. She moved the pink ball of feather so that he would lie next to her and tucked the blanket around him. It wasn't much but she wanted to be beside him if anything happened. In time she, she dreamed that this was all behind her - a vague memory that she didn't want.

* * *

Yolei awoke before morning after she felt something heavy on her chest. She cracked her eyes open to see a little ball of pink feathers chirping on her chest, "Yay! You're awake! I was getting bored! Where are we? Is this your room?"

"Ah!" Yolei gasped and panickedly fell off the bed. She felt something stir in the dark room and realized her siblings must have unlocked the door at some point in the night. She covered her partner's mouth and whispered, "Keep quiet!"

"Yolei?" Chizuru said, "Are you awake?"

"Just going for a walk to get some air," Yolei excused herself, holding her partner's mouth shut while hurrying out of the bedroom. She struggled to get her shoes on with her partner fidgeting excitedly in her arms, mumbling about how happy he was to see her awake. Once she managed to tuck the last shoe in, she hurried outside into the brisk early morning. The whole time, her little partner fidgeted excitedly until they came to a small playground near the apartment.

She sat down on one of the benches and let the little bird go so that he could stretch his wings with flying. He buzzed around excitedly, chirping the whole time about how happy he was to see her awake. He whipped around in circles and she watched him quietly, amazed that he'd somehow slept off yesterday's injuries. She relaxed slightly and reclined on the bench while he started joining flocks of birds awakening early to pick at the ground for worms. Her partner tried to make conversation with them but figured they didn't talk back because they were busy eating. It took a while for him to pick a worm out of the ground, but he spat it out in disgust, "Ew. That's disgusting."

Yolei giggled at her partner, awkwardly saying, "I'm happy to see you're feeling better Hawkmon."

"Poromon," her partner replied, "Hawkmon is the name of my digivolved form. My name's Poromon now."

Yolei blinked a few times and smiled softly, "Poromon. I'm glad you're okay."

"So where are we? Is this your world? It's so different with all these buildings everywhere," Poromon mused of their environment. Yolei nodded, "Yeah, it's my world. We came back after we beat the emperor yesterday."

"Oh, okay," Poromon nodded, watching the other birds peck at the ground around them excitedly. He hopped around on the ground with them, finding some amusement in the fact that they always flew away whenever he tried to get close. Yolei was still trying to process all of this - her partner was an adorable red hawk who became a ferocious red gryphon that regressed a pink little bird after being beaten trying to protect her. Thinking on it worried her, she asked, "Hey, Poromon. Why did you...protect me like that yesterday?"

"Well, I'm your partner. That's what I'm supposed to do," Poromon replied, looking over at her confusedly. Yolei nodded and went on, "I get that, but why? Why would you put yourself in danger like that over me?"

"Because we're friends. What other reason do I need?" Poromon replied, wide eyed. That comment took her off guard and she replied quickly, "Friends? It's a bit soon isn't it? I mean, we just met and it's not like I know much about you. It's like that TK kid where I just kind of got roped along into whatever he was doing. Cody and Izzy are my friends, but I've known them for a while. Kari's cool and Davis is kind of a likable idiot, but I wouldn't call them friends."

Poromon listened intently to what she said, nodding along until replying, "Yolei. Friends aren't made by how long you've known each other. Friends are...they're...people you would do anything for. It's the people who came into your life, showed you how important you are to them, and then proved it."

Yolei tried to rebut but couldn't think of anything to say. Instead, she recalled how Sora went after her when she'd left the school abruptly. She recalled TK trying to drag her along through everything, although it was possible that he was simply trying to include her in their group in his own, weird way. Perhaps, she had simply been refusing to give the others a chance to let her in.

Seeing her fall silent, Poromon hopped onto her lap, "If you don't want to call me a friend because you don't know me well, then let's get to know each other. But can we do it over breakfast? I'm hungry and that worm left a bad taste in my mouth!"

"Sure, I get free snacks from my parents' convenience store. We can go get some before they have to open up," Yolei answered. Suddenly, she saw a figure jogging towards her in the morning mist. She put a finger to her lips and pulled Poromon in close in a poor attempt to hide him. Realizing it would never work, she considered simply leaving with Poromon tucked under her shirt but that it would only draw more attention. She spent too much time thinking and failed to notice the jogger reach her. The jogger stopped to jog in place and waved, "Hey Yolei. You too Hawkdude. Glad to see you're feeling better."

She snapped out of her thoughts and finally realized who was there - Davis dressed in gray sweats and seemingly out of breath, "What are you guys up too?"

"Davis? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be getting ready for your soccer game?" she asked back, forgetting that he'd even asked a question. He nodded, "I am. Coach says morning runs help warm you up for a game so that's what I'm doing - I'm getting myself ready. I think I have to since we're going up against that Ken Ichijouji guy later."

That part specifically caught Yolei's attention and she stood up, "Ken Ichijouji!? You're playing against Ken Ichijouji? How come you never said anything!?"

"Well you never asked," Davis shrugged, "Why do you care? Don't tell me you're into that kid's hype too?"

Yolei took offense to that insinuation that anything surrounding Ken Ichijouji was hype and ran to his defense, "Davis! He's only the smartest, most athletic, and cutest boy to ever live! He's already mastered four languages and won fifty simultaneous games of chess in the national chess tournament! Not to mention that he's got a black belt in Aikido, and set the regional record for shortest time in the 500 meter dash."

"I can take him," Davis said with a big toothy grin, "Who knows? This could end with us becoming best friends afterwards! We'll team up and become an unstoppable duo!"

"Or he'll mop the floor with you. What time is your game? I have to go meet him! Maybe I could get an autograph," Yolei shot up excitedly. Davis stepped back to give her room and answered, "It's at ten. You can come if you want. The others are going to be there too - Kari, TK, Cody, Izzy, DemiVeemon, Upamon, Gatomon, and Patamon. Anyway, I gotta get back to my run. See ya!"

He waved and started jogging again. Yolei could barely contain her excitement and leapt for joy as the day was taking a turn for the better. She started the walk back to her apartment while Poromon asked, "Hey Yolei? What's a soccer game?"

* * *

After his long run, Davis had a quick breakfast and changed into his soccer uniform. After making sure all of his gear was in his bag, he discretely snuck DemiVeemon inside and took off. Along the way, he met with Kari and they walked together to the park. Gatomon strolled along side her casually pretending to be a cat, a fact that DemiVeemon detested, "Can't I walk like Gatomon?"

"I told you, you'll draw way too much attention. It's better if you just hide out in my bag," Davis explained. DemiVeemon sighed, "If I pretended to be a doll, would you carry me?"

"What? No!" Davis replied, "The rest of the guys on the team would make fun of me if they saw carrying a doll."

"I don't know Davis, I think it'd be kind of cute," Kari teased the poor boy. Against that comment, Davis had no defense and promptly picked up DemiVeemon to impress upon Kari how 'cute' he could be. Kari squealed in delight and produced the camera she kept around her neck to take a picture, "I knew it! You do look so cute."

Davis frowned but this did make him blush a little. Gatomon snickered, a fact Davis ignored to ask, "So what are you telling your parents about Gatomon?"

"Nothing. I snuck her into my room last night through the window. Although they are wondering why Miko's been more angry lately," Kari admitted with a giggle. Gatomon jeered, "I don't know what that cat is so fussy about. It's not like I enjoyed eating the cat food."

"Then why did you spend so much time licking the bowl?" Kari asked with a sneaky grin. Gatomon turned her head up in defiance, refusing to acknowledge the comment with a response. When they arrived at the park, Kari sat in the bleachers with the other parents and friends here to see the teams play. Surprisingly, there were a large of number of girls here excitedly chattering among themselves. As she made room for Gatomon, she over heard one of them mention Ken Ichijouji and hoping he would be here soon.

As Davis predicted, his teammates did make fun of him for bringing a doll to the soccer game and he quickly threw DemiVeemon back into his duffle bag. He left it with Kari before joining the rest of his team and quietly putting up with their mocking him for bringing a doll to the soccer game. The mockery quickly turned to jealousy as a few of them asked how he could get a girl like Kari to hang around him so much, a point that he smugly countered by stating how awesome he was.

Kari watched them begin warming up for the game while Gatomon rested beside her, quietly mewling to hide her whispers, "I don't get it. What are they doing? This game doesn't make any sense."

"They're just warming up. Basically, you can touch the ball with anything but your hands and the two teams try to get the ball into the other's goal," Kari whispered back to the cat. She grunted back indifferently, "Sounds dumb."

"Tai used to like playing it a lot," Kari whispered back quietly, thinking back on one time he kicked the ball so hard that he'd knocked over and broke one of her mom's vases. She giggled quietly and was joined by TK, "Hey, what's so funny?"

"Oh, hi TK," she looked to her side to see him and several others, "Cody, Izzy! Morning to you guys, too!"

She scooted across the bleachers to give the rest of them room to sit down. Patamon rested on TK's hat, giving him the appearance that he was doing a weird balancing act. Upamon sat in Cody's arms and perked up excitedly.

"Hey, what about us?" Upamon asked until Cody shushed him, "Upamon. Pretend to be a doll."

"Oh, right," Upamon sighed. Cody glanced around nervously, hoping no one noticed the outburst while Kari apologized, "I'm sorry. Good morning to you too Upamon, Patamon."

DemiVeemon chose this moment to poke his head out from inside the bag and asked, "Heya guys!"

"Back inside," Gatomon pushed him back in, to the little digimon's annoyance, "But it smells funny in here!"

"That's probably the gym socks," TK nodded, unzipping the bag further so the digimon could have some fresher air to breathe. The digimon took in a long breath, "Air!"

"Hey, make room for me," Upamon giggled before hopping in himself to join DemiVeemon. TK counted the seconds and got to two before Upamon retched, "It smells bad in here! I regret my decision! Let me out!"

"You're not going to put me in there, are you TK?" Patamon asked from his lap. TK shook his head, "Not a chance."

As they settled in, they took note of a confused purple haired girl looking around nervously for anyone she recognized. TK spotted her first and called out, "Hey Yolei! We're over here!"

She waved at them and rushed over to join them. Tucked in her arms was her pink bird partner, fidgeting anxiously in an attempt to escape. Her mood was subdued but she greeted them anyway, "Hey."

"Came to watch the game huh?" TK asked the girl, making room to give her a seat, "I thought you and Davis didn't get along?"

"We don't, but he invited me after we met in the park earlier," Yolei explained. In her lap, Poromon sniffed the air and stuck out his tongue, "What's that awful smell?"

"Davis's duffle," Kari answered, holding the bag towards the digimon, "If holding still is too much, you can hide in here and still watch the game."

Poromon sniffed the air a few more times and shivered, "No thanks. It smells awful."

"Look guys. They're starting the game," Cody pointed out for them. The players were assembling at their starting positions, with Davis meeting the other team's player in the center. The referee started talking about playing clean and fair before calling the start of the game. As soon as he blew his whistle, the game started and Davis stole the ball right away.

As the game ran, Yolei scanned the field hopefully and sighed, "I don't see Ken anywhere."

"I was hoping for a chance to meet the child genius," Izzy added. His absence didn't stop Kari from cheering Davis on, "Kick butt Davis!"

"With how hard he kicks, he just might," Cody observed of the boy as he scored the first point of the game. Davis threw his arms up excitedly and one of his teammates high-fived him. For a brief moment he glanced at the crowd and gave a thumbs up before returning to his position in the field. Izzy pointed out that it seemed he was signaling at someone in their direction, but everyone else figured it was for Kari.

The game continued on in this pattern for the next few minutes with Davis's team leading three to nothing. The whole while, Kari cheered loudly. The younger digimon who were having a hard time containing their excitement cheered with her despite not knowing what was going on. At half time, the teams retreated to their benches to get water and go over their game plan. During the brief intermission TK pointed out, "I had no idea Davis was so good at soccer. He's practically carrying this game for his team."

"He was probably hoping for more of a challenge from them. I guess their team isn't much without Ken," Kari reasoned while Yolei mumbled, "And I'm sure he's not trying to impress you."

At that exact moment, a plethora of screams broke out and everyone one of them turned their heads to the side. The digimon inside the bag poked their heads out briefly until Gatomon pushed them back inside, and they complained that they couldn't see what all the noise was about. Walking casually towards the center of the field, dressed in the opposing team's uniform, was a handsome boy with a confident if narcissistic smile. His long blue hair was brushed to the side of his face and gave him a girlish look that he worked to his advantage in making himself more handsome.

Yolei shot up right away and screamed, "Oh my gosh! It's him! It's Ken Ichijouji! Someone pinch me! I'm dreaming! OW!"

"You said pinch you," Cody offered unapologetically as he retracted his hand from her arm. Yolei grimaced as the young star strode over to his team's coach and vocally apologized for arriving late to the game. The coach simply thanked him for taking time out of his busy schedule and put him on the center for the next half of the game. As the other players went back to their starting positions, everyone noticed that Ken's team had suddenly found the energy to play the next round.

At the referee's whistle, the game started off with Ken taking the ball and commanding the rest of his team loudly. Anyone shouting out commands the way he did would most certainly have given away his team's plays and Davis' team always moved to block players. Despite that, they were powerless to stop the the game from changing directions as Ken's team quickly caught up on the scoreboard, then proceeded to pull ahead. With each point, Kari cheered louder and Davis's team became more desperate.

They were in awe of how quickly Ken was able to turn the game simply by being there, "It's amazing. It's almost like he's a commander."

"I know, right? He really is dreamy," Yolei fawned over the boy. TK was fixated on Davis, though, and the frustrated look in his eyes. He'd seen that look before, the desperation and anxiety that made people do crazy things. He hoped Davis wasn't about to do something incredibly stupid just to win the game.

At the start of the next play, Ken took the ball again and Davis retreated back to a defensive position on his team's side of the field. Ken shouted more commands and he passed the ball to a teammate while the two teams moved accordingly to counter the other. Davis was the only one ignoring the shouts around them and instead focused only on Ken, even when he didn't have the ball. The ball made its way back to Ken in the final seconds of the game and, just as he was about to kick it into the goal, Davis appeared from nowhere at a run. At the end of his run, he dropped into a slide and managed to steal the ball for one of his teammates while also tripping the genius over himself. Both boys scrambled to their feet and went after the ball as it went back to Ken's side of the field. The steal must've thrown the genius off since he didn't bark commands and instead watched in silence as Davis's team scored the final point of the game. They gained a point but still lost overall with Ken's team holding a comfortable twenty point lead over Davis's.

The two teams met in the middle to shake hands under the referee's watchful eye but there was a notable exchange between Davis and Ken as they stood hand in hand longer than the other players. It was hard to hear what they were saying but the intensity in each other's eyes would have left anyone nervous.

* * *

"Hey dude. Sorry about knocking you over like that," Davis apologized, glancing nervously at the number of Ken's fan girls present. They had revenge in their eyes as they glared at the boy who dared to trip their idol. He expected Ken to be sore about the whole thing but was surprised to hear him reply, "Not at all. It was a pleasure to have a game against someone who could keep up with me. If anything, I should apologize for not noticing you until you knocked me over. It's not every day that someone can surprise me."

Davis was taken aback by the compliment and found himself kicking the dirt sheepishly, "Oh...well, y'know. I only hung back because I figured we were going to lose no matter what. That's when I saw that you were wide open when your guy tried to pass you the ball. So I stole it out from under you. I'm just embarrassed that we tripped over each other."

"Don't worry about it," Ken chuckled, his smile still retaining its narcissism, "I didn't think anyone would notice that I was wide open when using that play."

"It was kind of hard to tell. You had so many of your own guys running around you that I almost didn't notice," Davis replied. Ken's smile sharpened, "What's your name?"

"Davis. Davis Motomiya," Davis said proudly. Ken nodded and tapped the side of his forehead, "I'll remember that Davis Motomiya. My name is Ken Ichijouji, although I suspect you already knew that. You certainly are a worthy rival on the field."

There were beeps from Ken's pocket and he retrieved a small watch, "Well would you look at the time. I apologize but I have another appointment. It was a pleasure to meet your acquaintance."

Ken bowed respectfully and went to collect his things before leaving. Davis was taken aback by the whole encounter and found himself staring at his hand in disbelief. One of his teammates whispered, "Dude. Did _the_ Ken Ichijouji just call you a _rival_?"

"A _worthy_ rival," Davis corrected, tightening his hand into a fist and punching the air excitedly. He tried to relish in the excitement of the moment, but it didn't last long as he felt a sharp pain introduce stars to the world around him. He shook his head and stumbled slightly, rubbing his cheek in agony as Yolei heaved beside him, "What the crap Davis!? Did you just trip Ken Ichijouji!?"

"Yolei? Oh, you did come to my game. Yeah, I did. And the dude was cool about it too. He shook my hand and called me a rival," Davis grinned proudly, "I gotta hand it to him, he's a cool kid. Even if he beat me at soccer."

"He sure left in a hurry," TK commented, joining them down in the field, "I wonder what that was about?"

"He leads a busy life and probably has a lot on his plate," Izzy suggested.

"Probably a smart kid thing," Davis shrugged it off, only to find Kari offering him a bottle of water. He thanked her and guzzled it down quickly, just now realizing how parched he was from the day's game, "Thanks Kari. You're awesome."

"No, you're awesome. Especially with that play against Ken. Oh! DemiVeemon wanted to say hi," Kari handed him his duffel bag, and he noticed it was both unzipped and heavier than he remembered. Without warning, DemiVeemon leapt into his arms, "Davis! That was so cool! It looked fun too! Can we play next time?"

"Yeah, but probably not with my team. You might freak them out," Davis pointed out, feeling the little the blue monster nuzzling against his face. As he said those words, he overheard a few of his teammates commenting on him playing with dolls, a fact that made him reply, "Not that I'd mind if you scared those guys a little bit."

"It's a shame we didn't get a chance to talk to him. I would've liked to get his opinion on a few theories on computer language comprehension," Izzy frowned, shaking his head in disappointment. Yolei frowned and added, "I would've just liked the chance to meet him."

"You and half the crowd," TK pointed over to the bleachers to highlight the number of girls who were there. Davis had been able to see it easily, but they weren't able to since they were in the middle of it. Davis was glad they were dispersing now since he didn't want to deal with that upset crowd coming after him for hurting their idol. Patamon took that chance to pipe up, "Can we go now? Watching the game was fun but I don't have it in me to sit still any longer."

"Yeah, why don't we head back to the school and check things out in the Digital World?" Kari proposed, "I'm worried about Agumon."

"But how are we going to get back into the school on a weekend? It's closed, remember," Cody pointed out for all of them. Izzy cleared his throat and whistled nonchalantly while producing a key from his pocket. They were all surprised to see the older boy holding it in his possession and Yolei snatched it away, "Is this what I think it is?"

"I might have helped Mr. Fujiyama out a few times with his computer and he might have given me keys to the school to fix it," Izzy answered nonchalantly, "So...who's all coming with us?"

"Yo!" Davis raised his hand up in the air, "Just let me change into some normal clothes first."

"You might want to let him into the school showers first," Cody suggested, "No offense Davis, but you kinda stink."

"That's the musk of manliness," Davis replied, raising his eyebrows towards Kari, "Isn't that right?"

"Uh...yeah," Kari stepped away, obviously upset by the smell but still trying to smile. TK joked, "It looks like your musk is repelling her."

"What about you, Yolei. Are you coming with us?" Cody asked the glasses clad girl, whose eyes had remained transfixed on Davis's hand for a while. It creeped Davis out and he asked, "Are you planning on cutting my hand off?"

She snapped out of her stupor and replied, "Huh? Oh, yeah. Yeah, I'm going. I was just thinking about how if I shook your hand which shook Ken's hand, then by the transitive property I would've shaken Ken's hand."

"What?" Davis had no idea what she'd just said and was trying to figure out what any of it meant. TK patted him on the shoulder, "Don't worry about it. Come on, let's go to school...on a weekend...to hang out, okay it sounds weird when you say it out loud."

"Then don't say it out loud," Gatomon reasoned, "Come on. We're burning day light."

 


	5. Old Friends

They snuck into the school through the back gate and let Davis into the locker rooms to shower before making their way to the computer lab. They ended up waiting for almost an hour as he rinsed off and changed, to their annoyance. Davis insisted that he liked a good soak and always worked up a sweat after a game of soccer. TK and Izzy weren't bothered by the smell so much after their lengthy stay in the Digital World previous had them crawling through sewers and going without baths for a while.

When they finally did arrive up to the computer lab, they found Matt waiting for them and tapping his foot impatiently. He smiled, "It's about time you guys got here. What took you?"

"We were waiting for Davis in the shower," TK explained, "What are you doing here anyway?"

Matt brushed his hair out of his face, "Sora asked me to stop by and check in with you guys since she had an impromptu tennis practice."

TK pushed Davis forward, "You remember Davis, right? The new digidestined?"

"Sure do," Matt nodded towards the boy, then noticed Yolei and Cody with them, "Aren't they the guys from our apartment? What are they doing here?"

"Oh, I never got to tell you last night. Cody and Yolei are digidestined too," TK explained, "Guys, you remember my brother Matt, right? Well, he's a digidestined like us."

"Yo," Matt waved casually. Cody bowed but Yolei was taken aback, "You mean...your brother is a digidestined too!?"

"Yeah, I am. You've been to the Digital World, right? Well my partner is Gabumon. How is he by the way?" Matt looked at TK specifically when he asked that question. Patamon finally leapt off his head, "He's fine. We left them with Agumon yesterday after-"

"Agumon?" Matt interrupted, taken by surprise at this revelation, "I thought we didn't know where Tamer was."

"We don't," Kari frowned glumly. When she remained silent, Izzy continued, "We did find Agumon though. He was being controlled by the Digimon Emperor and was turned into SkullGreymon."

"And we're sure The Digimon Emperor isn't The Digimon Tamer?" Matt asked seriously. TK nodded, "We are. He was looking for the Digimon Tamer and had plans to use the Ancient technology. Whatever it is he wants, it can't be good."

"You guys are using a bunch of words that don't make sense," Yolei commented, "What are you talking about?"

Matt looked over at her, a cautious look in her eyes before answering, "We can talk about it later. Let's just go to the Digital World. I'm anxious to see Gabumon."

"Wow, first Ken and now Matt," Yolei fawned silently, eyeing Matt in a way that made him uncomfortable. TK, Izzy, and Kari swapped glances and giggled knowingly at their shared joke - a fact that made Davis feel left out.

Their arrival in the Digital World was as messy as usualy. Matt, Yolei, and Cody fell on the ground in a tangled mess while Davis landed on both feet, "Man I'm getting good at this."

"You shure are Davish!" Veemon said from beside them. Davis gasped when he realized their digimon partners had returned to their rookie forms and he picked up the digimon excitedly, "Awesome! Veemon! You're Veemon again!"

"In any other context, that sentence would make him sound stupid," TK observed quietly, earning him a smack from Patamon, "Be nice TK. There's no need to be sarcastic."

"Upamon's back to Armadillomon and Poromon's back to Hawkmon," Yolei added, letting her little red partner go so he could stretch his wings. The red bird cracked his back, "Umph. This certainly is a welcome change from when I was Poromon. Although I think my back is still stiff from being carried for so long."

"But you didn't have a back," Yolei pointed out to her partner's relief, "Then it's growing pains."

Matt began examining his digivice, unsure of how to make it work, "So how are we going to find the others? We never did figure out how to use these things."

Izzy took this chance to interject, "About that. I have an idea about the new digivices that Davis and the others have. We never were able to get the digiports to open but they can just by saying 'Digiport Open'. I suspect the new digivices might have been modified to be easier to use. Davis, would you mind if I tried something with your digivice."

"Sure," Davis carelessly tossed his device into Izzy's hands and he fumbled it in his hands before clasping it firmly, "Got it. Okay, let's try this."

He pushed a few of the buttons on the screen and smirked, "Just as I thought. The user interface was redesigned to be easier. Here."

He returned to Davis who was taken aback by the change to his screen, "Oh, cool! What is it?"

"A map. If I had to guess, it's a map of our surroundings," Izzy answered with a confident smile, "That red dot in the center is us...well, you."

"Yeah and...hey, what's this black speck thing here on the map. It says it should be that way," Davis pointed to the side where a single black spire rose high over the tree tops. The digidestined gasped, and Davis groaned, "How many times are we going to have to take down that dumb control spire!? It's like a chin hair that keeps coming back."

"You have chin hairs?" Yolei gagged.

"You guys said they use these things to control digimon right?" Matt asked, "What about Gabumon and the others? They're okay, aren't they?"

"No idea, but the cave we left them at is this way. Let's go!" Patamon declared as he led the way. Everyone followed after him through the forest at a hurried pace towards the cave and the digimon they'd left behind. It was too dark inside to see anyone further inside - and the fact that no one was running out was concerning. Matt called in for his partner anxiously, "Gabumon? Are you in there? It's me, Matt!"

His greeting was returned with silence and led to worry. Matt called inside again, "Gabumon?"

"That's not good," Cody said, "You don't think that Emperor guy got them, do you?"

"That's not helping Cody," Hawkmon reminded the boy while pointing out how anxious Matt had become. Matt stepped further into the cave, "Gabumon!"

Izzy hgad become just as unnerved by their partner's absence and had begun to call in for them too, "Gabumon! Palmon! Biyomon? Gomamon! Tentomon? Are you guys there!?"

They were met with more silence that made everyone anxious. Cody sensed their unease and tried to add, "Maybe they went out to get some food."

"Or maybe something made them food," Matt replied, until they heard foot steps from within the cave followed by breathing. His open mouth curled into a relieved smile and he called for his partner, "Gabumon! Is that you?"

The reply came as heavier breathing until a large clawed foot stepped out into the light, followed by leather pants, a green muscled body, long white hair with sharp fangs and piercing eyes. It was a familiar face to the older digidestined but not to the newer ones. Davis asked, "Who's that guy and why is he leering at us?"

"That'sh Ogremon. He'sh the ogre digimon, a big bully who lovesh to pick fightsh. But they shay he'sh changed his waysh after shome bad thing happened a long time ago," Veemon answered excitedly, "I'd alwaysh heard about him but it'sh nicshe to finally meet him!"

"Um, guys. I don't think he's coming to say hi," Gatomon pointed out a dark ring around his upper left arm. He snarled at them and drew a bone club from behind them before charging forward. Matt and Izzy rushed out of the cave, pursued until Gatomon leapt into the air to swipe the club away. Matt fell behind Izzy and complained, "Why is Ogremon always trying to kill us whenever we meet him?"

"It is becoming routine at this point. Patamon! You have to digivolve!" TK shouted, 'pointing his digivice at his partner, "DigiArmor Energize!"

"You too Veemon!" Davis declared, not wanting to be shown up by TK, "DigiArmor Energize!"

"Patamon! Armor Digivolve to! Pegasusmon, Flying Hope!"

"Veemon! Armor Digivolve to! Flamedramon, The Fire of Courage!"

Flamedramon rushed in and managed to grab hold of Ogremon before he could swing his club again, holding the digimon in place, "Snap out of it Ogremon! I don't want to hurt you!"

"It's no good until we do something about the Dark Ring on him," Pegasusumon pointed out, joining Flamedramon in pushing Ogremon against a nearby tree, "Flamedramon! Destroy the ring!"

"Right, just let me-"

Flamedramon raised his claw to strike Ogremon's ring, but couldn't hold the ogre down with only one arm. Ogremon freed his arm and punched Flamedramon away. Without anyway to hold him back, Pegasusmon was helpless against Ogremon grabbing him by the head and supplexing him into the ground. Flamedramon scrambled to his feet but Ogremon was on him right away, punching him again and again. Davis panicked and shouted, "Get up Flamedramon! No! Flamedramon!"

"We need to get in there Armadillomon," Cody looked at his partner, "Are you ready?"

"Whenever y'are partner," Armadillomon nodded.

"Us too Kari! Let's help out!" Gatomon called out to her partner. The two digimon ran in while their partners shouted, "Digiarmor Energize!"

"Gatomon! Armor Digivolve to! Nefertimon! The Angel of Light!"

"Armadillomon! Armor Digivolve to! Digmon, The Drill of Knowledge!"

"Why not dance with someone your size?" Digmon shouted, tackling Ogremon from the side and pushing him onto the ground, "And let's change your accessories. Black is not your color."

"Just...just stop," Matt covered his face with his hands at the terrible series of one liners they just had to endure while Nefertimon zeroed in from above, "Take this! Rosetta Sto-"

"Gatling Attack!"

A series of bullets fired from below and zeroed in on Nefertimon, peppering her and injuring her until she reverted to Gatomon. Kari called out for her partner and ran to her as she fell to the ground from above. Pegasusmon forced himself up on seeing her fall and took to the sky to save her. He caught her just before she hit the first tree and landed in a crash back on the ground, still injured from Ogremon's attack. Digmon continued to grapple with Ogremon, pushing him away from the others.

A mechanical man joined the fray from where the gunfire came from - another friend to the older digidestined a long time ago: Andromon. His eyes glowed red with hostility, caused by several dark rings around his body and he scanned them all carefully, "Acquiring targets. Identified as Digidestined. High Priority identified - Davis Motomiya. Kill on Sight. Destroy!"

"Oh, that's not good," Davis leapt out of the way as the first few bullets shot past, "SHIT! IS THAT A REAL GUN!?"

"Everyone take cover!" Izzy shouted as their group scattered. With Gatomon still on his back, Pegasusmon galloped towards TK and Kari for safety. Everyone took cover behind something except for Davis who ran straight towards his injured partner on the ground; Flamedramon whose digivolution regressed to Veemon. Unfortunately, this left Davis out in the open for Andromon to shoot. Izzy shouted at the boy for his carelessness, "Davis! Get out of there!"

"Gatling Attack!"

Andromon fired another hail of bullets at Davis and the area he was in disappeared into smoke. Kari screamed in terror at the thought of another goggled wearing boy dying, "DAVIS!"

Her scream was cut short. Izzy looked in her direction in the confusion and discovered that she'd vanished - as had Pegasusmon, TK, and Gatomon. He shouted for Matt to get his attention but found him absent as well. Izzy whipped his head around nervously for the others - Cody, Yolei, Hawkmon, and Digmon. Before he could call out to them as well, he felt a sudden pulling sensation and the wind whipping past his face. He opened his mouth to scream just as the sensation ended and he found himself standing on the edge of the forest in a clearing with Davis, Veemon, TK, Matt, Pegasusmon, Gatomon, and Kari. He tried to register what just happened but was just as lost as the others were. Kari was still frantic but was now clinging to Davis worriedly, "You idiot! Don't do anything that stupid again!"

Davis was trying to hide the blush on his face but responded, "Yeah...uh, sorry Kari."

"Okay, does anyone know what just happened?" TK asked aloud, "Because I'm confused."

"AAAHH! WHAT IS HAPPENING!? WHERE ARE WE!? HOW DID WE GET HERE?" Yolei appeared next with Hawkmon, both as startled as the rest of them. After a few more seconds, Cody and Digmon were there beside them, "Okay, what just happened?"

"I don't know," Izzy shook his head, "It was...different."

"I apologize for my abrupt intervention. You seemed to have things under control and probably could have handled Ogremon by yourselves. But your odds of success went down the moment Andromon appeared," a friendly voice greeted them. Another familiar voice to the older digidestined. TK and Kari swapped glances with each other, then looked to the unconscious Gatomon still on Pegasusmon's back. From there, another grunt followed and a friendly wizard in a pointed blue hat strolled up beside them, "I apologize for my fatigue; rapid chain teleportation is more taxing on me than it should be. Greetings digidestined, I am Wizardmon - spell caster extraordinaire and student of the magical arts."

He took a bow and held that position for a moment, as if expecting some applause. Cody bowed back respectfully and thanked him for his help but the others were less enthusiastic in their response. Matt whispered into Izzy's ear, "I know we shouldn't be surprised since we saw Ogremon too but...um...should we say something about what happened before or-"

"It's probably better not to bring that up. We don't even know if this is the same Wizardmon. If it is, we can't be sure he retained any memories from then," Izzy replied.

"Hey Wizardmon, thanks for saving our butts back there," Davis said with a thankful smile, "We'd be target practice if it weren't for you."

"Yes I know. Let me see what I can do for your friends. I have some experience in healing magic," Wizardmon made his way towards Veemon and placed his hands upon the unconscious digimon. A warm glow of light stretched forth from his hands and helped bring Veemon out of his state with a loud gasp, "Davish ish in trouble!"

"Veemon! You're okay!" Davis hugged his partner, mirroring Kari earlier. In turn Veemon mirrored Davis in replying, "A little closhe Davish! I can't breathe!"

Davis let go of his partner and apologized for what he'd done, while Wizardmon went to tend to Gatomon. Kari and TK watched nervously, mind racing about what they'd do if Gatomon saw Wizardmon before her. The same warm glow he used to awaken Veemon helped to stir the white feline, who opened her eyes slowly from her stupor. Kari was quick to move into her line of sight and smiled, "Hey Gatomon! I'm glad you're okay."

"Hi, Kari," Gatomon smiled up at the girl, sitting up slowly. Hey eyes wandered around curiously, from Kari to Pegasusmon, TK, and finally on Wizardmon. It took a moment but her eyes widened in disbelief before she leapt onto the wizard, "Wizardmon!"

Wizardmon was taken aback by the sudden hug and replied, "Oh, a hug. I don't really do hugs but this is nice. It's...um...nice to hug you back, I guess."

"I'm sorry Wizardmon," Gatomon apologized, "I forgot you don't like mushy stuff."

"I don't, especially not with digimon I've just met," Wizardmon replied, "All the same, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Gatomon pulled away from the wizard, her expression stunned but not confused. She blinked once and managed to force out a smile before letting go, "Right. Sorry. I guess I got a little too close."

Nobody said a thing and they knew what exactly was going through her mind at that moment. The same thing going through their minds. This digimon may look like Wizardmon but he wasn't their Wizardmon. And if it was, he hadn't retained any of his memories from his previous life so he may as well have been a different Wizardmon. But only Kari could have understood how that felt - to finally meet someone again for so long, and for them to have no idea who you are. Izzy tried to change the subject, "Wizardmon, you didn't happen to see where our digimon went, did you? We left them in that cave last night but they weren't there when we came back."

"Oh, yes. I know where they are," Wizardmon took another bow, "I facilitated their escape when the Digimon Emperor returned for Agumon. If you'll follow me."

He turned so dramatically that his cape whipped around with him and he led them into the forest. There were questions among the new kids in their group that Yolei was the first to raise, "Okay, so who's this Wizardmon guy? Can we trust him?"

"Yeah, he's…was a good friend of ours," Gatomon nodded her answer, voice shaking but still calm, "And he doesn't look like he's under the control of a dark ring. I'd say he's trustworthy."

"I think the better question is are you okay Gatomon?" Hawkmon asked the white feline. She nodded, "I'm fine, let's go."

Her sad eyes betrayed her answer, but Yolei didn't press the matter. TK mouthed to her to let it go and their group followed along after the wizard as he spoke to them, "I must say that it's a relief to finally see the digidestined here to stop the Emperor. Perhaps we'll finally have a real resistance. Ogremon tried to lead a resistance on his own but they all fell to the Emperor's rings. Now, they serve explicitly as his personal assassins - using them against the very digimon they swore they would protect and liberate."

"Rough," Davis frowned, pocketing his hands until they came across a large tree without a hollowed out hole at its base. Within was the still unconscious Agumon and the rest of their digimon huddled around him. Upon seeing them, Matt ran ahead of the rest of their group, "Gabumon! Gabumon are you there!?"

"Matt! Is that you?" Palmon poked her head out of the hollowed out trunk in surprise, "It is! Guys! They're here!"

The rest of the digimon piled out of the cave, but Matt's heart sank when he didn't see Gabumon among them. He ran into the hollowed out tree and saw only the unconscious Agumon lying still. Matt clicked his tongue, "Where's Gabumon?"

Palmon frowned, "He...When the Emperor came back, he stayed behind to give us a chance to escape. Wizardmon came in to save us but..."

Matt turned on wizard almost immediately, storming towards him with a fierce look. TK moved in front of his brother to try and calm him down, hoping to reason with his brother before he did something he was going to regret, "Matt, I know you're upset but calm down! Getting mad won't solve anything."

Matt ignored him and growled at Wizardmon, "What happened to Gabumon!?"

"He was taken by the Emperor before I could do anything. He made a point of taking him alive so there is a chance for us to rescue him," Wizardmon replied regretfully. This answer did little to placate Matt and he bitterly added, "And you didn't try to save him!?"

"I did all I could," Wizardmon replied matter of factly, glaring back, "The chances of our successful escape went up dramatically if the emperor remained unaware that I was teleporting digimon away. It was regretful but this was the best I could do."

"Well your best wasn't enough," Matt hissed angrily. This time Yolei chose to speak up, "Hey! That's not cool, yelling at him like that for no reason. He said he tried."

Matt turned on her angrily, "Don't act high and mighty! You're the one who didn't lift a finger to help while Ogremon and Andromon were tearing the rest of us apart. Davis and Veemon were nearly killed and you just stood there watching."

"W...well I didn't see you doing anything!" Yolei accused back, which made Matt even angrier, "I'M NOT THE ONE WITH A DIGIMON PARTNER WHO CAN DIGIVOLVE RIGHT NOW!"

"Whoa, they're getting kinda heated," Davis said with surprise. TK wasn't able to stand watching his brother anymore and did the one thing he could think of to snap sense into him. He pulled his hand back and punched his older brother in the face. Not hard, but enough to make him come to his senses. Shock befell the rest of the group and Cody spoke up, "TK! What are you doing?"

"Just give him a second," TK replied flatly, watching his brother take a few deep breaths. Eventually, he rubbed the side of his cheek, "Thanks TK."

"Hey, no worries big bro," TK smiled, "I'd be happy to do it again if you need it."

"Try and I'll deck you back," Matt chuckled to himself. TK looked at him expectantly and added, "Is there something you'd like to say to Yolei?"

Matt looked at the terrified girl guiltily and frowned, "Sorry...for what I said."

"It's okay," Yolei's voice choked out, still obviously shaken by Matt's sharp choice of words.

"Wait, what's this?" Davis asked with a pointed finger, "He just punched you, dude! You're not going to punch him back? I mean, I'd be pretty mad if anyone decked me. And you just yelled at Yolei! If I did that, I'd get slap to the face!"

"TK's my brother, I can't stay mad at him," Matt smiled apologetically, "Besides, he only did it to help me out."

"And he did apologize," Yolei added quietly.

"If you say so," Davis shrugged, "Man, I kinda wish I got an older brother instead of a sister."

"Are you saying you don't like having a sister?" Kari frowned at the goggled boy who didn't pick up on any subtext in her words, "Not really. She's always in my face about things and says I smell bad. Last night, she wouldn't leave DemiVeemon alone. She called him her baby."

"I kinda liked the attention to be honesht," Veemon stuck out his tongue playfully.

"Oh don't go over to her side too," Davis complained, just now realizing that Kari's expression soured as well, "Hey, what's wrong Kari?"

"You can't treat your sister like that Davis," she scolded him. Davis threw his hands up, "Where's this coming from?"

"You just don't get it Davis," Kari folded her arms and walked back towards her partner. TK mumbled something about a lot happening at once and none of it being addressed so Matt brought them back on focus, "Okay! Let's go save Gabumon! Where did they take him?"

"An old Ancient site in the area. It's why the Digimon Emperor is so dedicated on keeping this area under his control. Most of the digimon he's enslaved are there now, helping to unearth sections of the ruin," Wizardmon explained. Izzy blinked, "You don't mean the temple do you?"

"No. The area is beside the temple," Wizardmon answered.

Tentomon accompanied their group as the rest of the digimon stayed behind to protect Agumon. The last thing any of them needed was for SkullGreymon to come back. Wizardmon guided them to the old temple where Yolei and Cody met their digimon partners. A good distance away was a massive dig site burrowing several hundred feet into the ground as large numbers of digimon worked tirelessly to remove earth and stone. Supervising the operation were Kuwagamon, Tyrranomon, and Ogremon patrolling the edge of the dig - occasionally threatening tires digimon into working harder. Beyond the perimeter were three control spires standing to remind everyone within who was in charge.

"What is all this?" Matt asked, "It wasn't here before, was it?"

"No. We don't know what the Emperor is trying to find by digging," Wizardmon answered with a frown. Izzy spoke up, "I think we have an idea. He said he was trying to use Ancient tech. We don't know what for, only that he desperately needed it to work."

"A kid like him with the power of the Ancients at his disposal," Cody thought aloud, "He could be like a god. A vengeful god."

"I reckon' we oughta get down to business and clear the place out," Armadillomon said, "If we destroy the control spire, those dark rings will go kaput and they'll all be free."

"I don't surmise it'll be so easy with three spires all within close proximity. If we destroy one, they'll notice and try to defend the others," Hawkmon reminded them of the three pillars of doom looming over them in the distance, "If we're going to win, we'll need to destroy them all at once."

"So we'll have to split up then," TK thought aloud, then looked at his brother and Izzy, "I'm not sure you guys will be much help to us with the control spires blocking your digimon from digivolving."

"Hey, don't worry about it. I trust you guys," Matt said softly, "You guys take care of this however you have to and we'll be cheering you on."

"Okay, Davis and Veemon, you guys go take out that spire on the left. Kari and I will take the one on the right. Yolei, Cody, you guys go with Armadillomon and Hawkon to destroy the spire on the other side of the site," TK explained to them. Davis immediately had an issue with the plan, "Hold on! How come you get to go with Kari, TJ!? Why doesn't she go with me?"

Kari was about to calm him down but didn't expect TK's answer to come so quickly, "Because you and Veemon are probably the strongest fighters here. If anyone will be alright by themselves, it'll be you guys."

"Oh, you think so?" the reversal in Davis's mood was astounding.

"Well, I guessh we are pretty aweshome," Veemon brushed his thumb across his nose proudly.

"And what about us?" Yolei asked, "How come we're going to the furthest one?"

"Because you guys have Armadillomon. He digivolves to Digmon, then drills a tunnel to the far side of the digsite," TK explained, "That way, you can get to it and take it out before anyone knows what's going on."

"That's...actually really smart TK," Cody praised the older boy, "How did you come up with any of that?"

"It pays to have experience," Patamon replied, "Except you guys will be making a tunnel instead of using a sewer."

"Um...what?" Armadillomon asked. Matt had a good laugh at a memory that left the younger digidestined confused. Gatomon nonchalantly answered, "They snuck into my old boss's place using the toilets. Don't think too hard on that."

"Hey, enough joking around," Davis declared in an attempt to take charge of the situation, "Let's go free a camp of prisoners."

The younger digidestined hurried to begin their mission, leaving Izzy, Matt, Wizardmon and Tentomon alone to scan the dig site for any sign of Gabumon. It was like mesmerizing clockwork to watch hundreds of digimon moving in near synchronized rhythm. The quick motions were brought to a halt when one of the digger collapsed, and several others went to their aid.

Ogremon went to investigate the commotion and growled, "What's going on? You! Layabout! Get up and get back to work."

The digimon backed away worriedly and they could plainly see the collapsed digimon, a Gotsumon lying injured and fatigued on the ground. It looked up with pleading eyes and mumbled, "I...can't. Too...tired."

Ogremon was unimpressed and stepped upon its head, "If you won't get up, then I'll make sure that you stay down."

"We have to stop this," Matt said to Izzy, "We can't just sit here and do nothing."

"We can't! Not until they destroy the control spires. If we go in like this now, we're done for," Tentomon reminded Matt who could only dig his hands into the dirt in frustration over his helplessness. Ogremon pressed harder upon the Gotsumon who started to scream in pain until they heard the familiar sound of his partner, "Leave him alone!"

Gabumon appeared from among the enslaved digimon and tackled Ogremon in an attempt to knock him off the helpless Gotsumon, but bounced back on the ground. Ogremon stepped off the fatigued Gotsumon and leered at the little rookie, "You wish to trade your life for this helpless runt?"

"No, I'm trying to stop you from doing something you'll regret, Ogremon," Gabumon explained angrily, "You're not yourself with that Dark Ring on you."

Ogremon grunted, unimpressed by Gabumon's words. Matt looked at Wizardmon and considered asking him to rescue Gabumon. But they'd done this dance before and it ended with his death. He couldn't bring himself to ask Wizardmon to endanger himself, especially not after how it affected Gatomon the first time. But he wasn't comfortable leaving his own partner to die either. He heard Gabumon grunt in pain and realized the little rookie had been kicked to the ground. Matt couldn't sit back and watch any more. Without a second thought, he rushed down to aid his friend, "GABUMON!"

"Matt?" his partner asked, pushing himself up off the ground upon seeing his friend running down the dig site. Matt didn't care that Ogremon was now looking at him. He didn't care that there were now Tyrannomon and Kuwagamon coming for him. All he cared about was his injured digimon partner and helping him get out of here. Gabumon shouted warningly, "Matt! Get out of here! It's dangerous!"

"Not without you!" Matt shouted, running as fast as his legs would carry him. He slid to a stop at Gabumon's side and scooped his partner up in his arms, "Come on! Let's get out of here!"

"Right, but where?" Gabumon asked, looking around him. Matt looked over his shoulder and saw that he was surrounded on all sides by the larger digimon. Ogremon loomed over him unamusedly and asked, "Where do you think you're going?"

"Oh, you know. Just checking out the sights," Matt took a page from the most annoying person he knew to buy time, "Thought I'd see how are things are going down here and NOT letting you hurt my friend. We're leaving!"

"In the name of the Emperor, you will not be leaving here alive," Ogremon declared. Matt gave that statement consideration before asking, "But if I'm not alive, how am I going to be leaving? Or are you going to be carrying our bodies around with you everywhere you go. Do you promise to at least clean yourself before you...Oh man, I sounded like TK for a second. Worse, I sounded like him."

"You'll be leaving in pieces! PUMMEL WHA-"

He was interrupted by several loud explosions that shook the area and Matt felt a smile draw itself on his face.

Davis came face to face with the giant spire before him and shook his head, "Man, I just cannot get over the fact that TJ is alone with Kari right now!"

"She'sh not alone with TK, Davish. Patamon and Gatomon are with them," Veemon added, "Why do you care anyway?"

"Because...I don't like the way they talk casually with each other," Davis tapped his foot, grumbling, "Gah! Why did I let him play my ego like that?"

"I jusht don't get you humansh," Veemon shook his head, "Anyway, are we going to destroy this control shpire or not?"

"Yeah, you're right," Davis nodded, producing his digivice, "DigiArmor Energize!"

"Veemon! Armor Digivolve to! Flamedramon, The Fire of Courage!"

The champion digimon rose high into the air and blasted its base with bolts of fire from his fist, "Flame Fist!"

The spire cracked like glass, then shattered into thousands of tiny pieces. Davis pumped the air excitedly and cheered, "Alright! We did it!"

"Come on, Davis. We should go join the others," Flamedramon advised, as they heard more explosions in the distance that signaled the destruction of the control spires. The blue champion scooped Davis up and broke off at a high speed run to rejoin the others at the dig site. They arrived in time to witness hundreds of tiny digimon making a run to safety. The Kuwagamon and Tyrannomon who'd been standing guard earlier now seemed completely indifferent to their prisoners, opting to wander off in a confused daze.

In the center of it all was a dazed Ogremon wobbling back and forth before Matt and Gabumon. Upon seeing them, Davis and Flamedramon hurried to join them. Wizardmon appeared beside them with his magical teleportation holding Izzy and Tentomon and attempted to get the ogre digimon's attention as he fell backwards on to the ground, "Ah! My head. Where am I?"

"Rest easy friend. You've been under the influence of the dark ring for some time," Wizardmon assured the ogre, assisting him onto his back, "What…what happened? We were in fighting. The others! Where are they?"

"Some were captured like you were," Wizardmon explained, "Others surrendered and were enslaved. The rest were killed out right. The Emperor wanted to stamp out any resistance as quickly as possible."

Ogremon grunted his disapproval breathed deeply, "My head…are you all alright? I didn't hurt any of you…did I?"

"Knocked me around a little, but I'm okay," Flamedramon admitted to the lion quietly. The others gave him cold looks as the ogre closed his eyes to rest, "I'm sorry. The DigiEgg!"

Ogremon bolted upright, then fell backwards on his back in pain, "Ugh, my head."

"You should rest," Wizardmon advised the ogre, trying to use his healing magic to help and getting his hands swatted away, "I can't. The Tamer…asked me to protect the egg. It was for…the boy…with goggles."

He reached into his pocket and produced a solid black digiegg with a golden spike shaped like a thunderbolt on its held. Emblazoned across its head was a single blue symbol that resembled a whirlpool. Matt proclaimed, "It's the crest of friendship!"

"For the boy with goggles," Izzy repeated, "Davis, I think this is for you."

"Me? But I already have a digimon partner and a digiegg!" Davis said, "And I'm not giving up Flamedramon for anything. Have you seen his 'Flame Fist'? That attack's awesome."

"Come on Davis, you have to give new things a try," Flamedramon encouraged the boy. Davis looked at the hesitantly, unsure if it really was for him before finally accepting it. He placed it in his pocket for safe keeping.

"We shouldn't linger out in the open like this," Wizardmon stated, "Let's move to safety."

"Wait, where are Kari and the others?" Davis asked aloud, "We can't just leave witho-"

The earth beneath their feet shook violently, rumbling in protest of their very presence. Izzy produced his digivice from his pocket and pointed it at his partner, "What's happening? Tentomon! Get us out of here!"

"Tentomon! Digivolve to! Kabuterimon!"

The little red insect became a massive blue beetle with wings, using his multiple arms to pick them all up and fly away. As soon as the insect took off the ground, it crumbled from beneath to reveal a massive cavern below. Occupying it was a single white spire layered in dirt and rocks. The spire rose from the cavern, dragging parts of the earth along with it and straight towards them. Kabuterimon moved out of its path but Izzy urged him to stay close so they could get a good look, "What is that?"

"It looks kinda familiar. We've seen one of these before, haven't we?" Matt asked as the insect circled around it. Once it had completely risen out of the cavern, it hovered over the ground so that it resembled a flying rock. This was the last thing on Davis' mind as he scanned the ground for some sign of the others, "I don't see Kari or Gatomon or anyone! Where are they?"

"DAVIS! LOOK!" Flamedramon pointed out nine figures held on a large outcropping of the rock that served as a platform. Davis blinked on seeing them, adjusting his eyes carefully and realizing it was the other missing digidestined and their digimon held hostage - Kari, Gatomon, TK, Patamon, Cody, Armadillomon, Yolei and Hawkmon. The ninth was Andromon standing over them with his gun to their heads. Panic over took Davis and he called out to them. In turned, they shouted back to be helped.

"I won't be able to do much while I'm carrying all of you," Kabuterimon explained, "I can fly close but the rest is up to you guys."

"Don't worry, we can handle it," Davis said aloud. Flamedramon took his cue and grabbed hold of his partner before leaping off towards the platform. Not wanting to be outdone, Matt and Gabumon followed after him, tucking into a roll before landing besides them on the platform. Davis was startled to see them there but was glad for the help. It was hard to stay steady on the moving platform as they stood this high up. Andromon called out to them, "Stand down, or the digidestined will be executed!"

"Davis! Don't be a hero! Save yourself!" TK warned the boy. Kari agreed, "He's right! Get out of here!"

"I'm not leaving any of you guys behind," Davis said back, looking at Flamedramon for an answer. Flamedramon shrugged and Matt sighed, "Man. I never wanted to do this again. Hey Andromon!"

Andromon turned to face the boy as he bolted straight for the end of the platform, then turned to run along its edges. Annoyed Andromon commanded, "Stand down or be destroyed."

"Hey! Look at me! I'm a target!" Matt shouted, leaping out of the way as a hail of bullets rained at him. TK groaned, "Matt! Stop trying to get yourself killed!"

Flamedramon saw an opportunity and dashed straight towards the android while his attention was elsewhere, "Take this!"

He tackled the machine so hard it stumbled then looked to destroy the dark ring, only to find nothing on his body, "The Dark Ring is gone!"

"Error-error. Destroy the digidestined!" Andromon droned out before punching the digimon away. Flamedramon rolled along the platform but used his claws to catch himself before he flew off the edge, "Okay, that's a long drop!"

"Look out Flamedramon!" Yolei warned the blue reptile just as Andromon readied his gun again. Flamedramon leapt out of the way just as the trigger was pulled, narrowly avoiding more bullets. While he was distracted, Davis ran towards the other digidestined to free them from their prison. Flamedramon made sure to keep his attention away from Davis but was mostly powerless to do anything about it. Unwilling to stay on the sidelines, Matt produced his digivice and called out to his partner, "Ready Gabumon!? Let's go!"

"You got it partner," Gabumon dropped to all fours and started running ahead, "Gabumon! Digivolve to! Garurumon!"

Gabumon disappeared in a flash of light and came out the other side as a massive white wolf with blue stripes running down his mane. The wolf howled and leapt onto the android digimon, "Why don't you pick on someone your own size!"

Garurumon was large enough to pin Andromon to the ground, keeping him under his massive claws. The android struggled to break free while Garurumon called out to him, "Snap out of it Andromon! What's gotten hold of you? There's no dark ring so why are you fighting us!?"

"It is my mission to destroy the digidestined-tined-tined," Andromon repeated back to him, "THe digidestined must be deleted, by order of the emperor!"

"You're not supposed to destroy us Andromon! You're supposed to help us!" TK shouted at the android, "Don't you remember Koromon Village? ShogunGekomon's Palace? The battle to defeat the Dark Masters!? What was the one mission Tamer gave you!?"

"Destroy!" Andromon used his fist to punch the wolf off him and get back up. Flamedramon asked, "You guys know this digimon?"

"Yeah, he was a friend of ours just like Ogremon," Kari said, "He helped us. Why are you doing this Andromon?"

"It's called 'he's a robot' you morons," the disembodied voice of the emperor mocked them from nowhere. Everyone looked around anxiously in search of him. Armadillomon added, "Oh great! Now he can make his voice come from nowhere."

"Maybe he's a ventriloquist?" TK suggested, "He's got to be a really good one too."

"Does anyone else think that voice sounds familiar?" Yolei thought quietly.

The emperor groaned, "It's also called a microphone, you pathetic idiots. You're on a massive warship with the power to elevate itself off the ground and enough weapons on board to destroy the Digital World several times over! Do you honestly think it wouldn't have a microphone! I mean...gah, who chose a bunch of moronic children to be the digidestined!? How have you guys been out maneuvering me at every turn!? I'm a freaking genius and I can't figure your morons out!"

"Is name calling all you have?" TK asked with a quizzical smile. The emperor groaned, "Andromon, if he mocks me again - kill him. Anyway, what was I saying? Oh right! Andromon is a robot. Rather than waste a dark ring, I captured him and reprogrammed him to be my personal weapon. His loyalty is hard wired and nothing you do can break it."

"Then we'll just have to break him," Davis declared, still busy with the ropes tying Kari up. Kari refuted this and said, "Davis, you can't! He's still our friend!"

He looked up to see Garurumon and Flamedramon still trying to over power the mechanical digimon. Matt raced to help untie the remaining digidestined only to stop dead in his tracks, looking behind Davis at something he couldn't see. From behind, Davis heard a voice warn, "Excuse me? Who said you could let my prisoners go!?"

Before Davis could look back, he felt something strike him hard from behind. He had no idea what it was, but it was enough to send him tumbling forward and Kari shouted, "DAVIS!"

Davis looked up, head pounding, to see the Digimon Emperor standing where he'd been moments before with a frown on his face. Davis scowled at the boy and threatened, "You'd better let the others go or-"

"Or what?" the Emperor interrupted with a bemused smile, "Are you going to bleed on me? You're welcome to do so if you wish but I expect you to clean my robes afterwards."

"No, but I'll make you bleed for laying a finger on my friends!" Matt roared, running past Davis. The Emperor scoffed and produced a whip from beneath his billowing cape, whipping it over his head so that it wrapped around Matt. With a hard yank, he pulled Matt to the ground and smiled, "Now...why don't you be a good old man and stay down?"

"Get off of him!" Davis ran towards the emperor with his fists in the air, ready to help Matt. Just as he was about to connect his fist with the Emperor's face, he felt himself spin in the air before landing face down on the ground. Then a sharp blow to his chest knocked the wind out of him, and the emperor mocked, "Was that it? Pathetic. I expected something more from you but this...this is just sad. I guess I was wrong."

"Why...why are you doing this?" Davis opened one eye to look at the Emperor, seeing a half cocky smile on his face. The Emperor kicked him so hard that he rolled away before adding, "Because this is my revenge. I want to humiliate you the way you humiliated me. I tried to offer you the olive branch, I tried to make you understand. And you foil me at every turn. So this...this is about making you understand your place in the world. Andromon, enough playing. Incapacitate them."

"Understood," Andromon said, standing still so that Flamedramon and Garurumon could charge him at once. With a single blow, he dropped both digimon with little effort and returned them to their rookie forms. Gabumon and Veemon were in a daze, unable to comprehend their partners urging them to flee to safety. Andromon picked them up with little effort, "What are your orders, sir?"

"Nothing yet," the Emperor smiled wickedly, looking down on Davis below him, "It all depends on what you do next."

Davis may not have been the smartest digidestined around but he was still smart enough to have an idea of what the Emperor wanted. But he wouldn't give him the satisfaction. He asked, "What do you want?"

"To see you beg," the Emperor said, tilting his head slightly to sicken the smile on his face. Davis looked at Veemon, then to the others and thought about what he'd do to them if given the chance. His thoughts were on Kari when he bowed his head to the floor and pleaded, "I'm sorry. Please let them go."

He could hear the Emperor's amused cackle, "Say I'm a worthless piece of dirt unworthy of The Digimon Tamer's legacy."

"What?" Davis looked up, unaware that wasn't what the Emperor wanted to see. He kicked the boy so hard across the face that he drew blood with that kick. He demanded again, "Say it."

"Davis!" Kari called out for the boy again. Gatomon hissed, "You're a monster~"

Davis struggled to returned to his prostrated position, but found the strength to get there in the end. The blood pooled in his mouth and dribbled out as he opened his mouth. Cody shouted, "Don't do it Davis! It's not worth it!"

"It's fine," Davis managed, "If it protects you guys, I'll do whatever he wants."

He resumed his prostrated position and managed out, "I'm a worthless piece of dirt unworthy of The Digimon Tamer's legacy."

The Emperor giggled amusedly before shouting to the sky, "DO YOU SEE THAT DIGIMON TAMER? THIS KID IS THE ONE WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BEAT ME! WELL WHAT DO YOU THINK NOW!? HE CAN BARELY STAND! HIS PARTNER IS OUT COLD! HE'S ON HIS HANDS AND KNEES BEGGING FOR HIS FRIENDS' LIVES! WHAT DO YOUR PROPHECIES HAVE TO SAY NOW? WHERE IS YOUR DESTINY!?"

As he laughed, Davis noticed a flicker of light in his pocket and recalled the digiegg sitting in there. Matt called the symbol the Crest of Friendship and it gave Davis a good idea. With a half smile, he looked up at the Emperor with his bloody mouth to say, "DigiArmor Energize!"

"Veemon! Armor Digivolve to! Raidramon, The Storm of Frienship!"

Veemon emerged from a ball of cackling electricity, as a quadrupedal digimon in black armor. Three protrusions from its back like spikes sparked with electricity that traveled up to the horn on its head. Raidramon bore its fangs and the electricity arced around him, shocking Andromon into dropping Gabumon so he could run to safety.

The Emperor cocked a half smirk, as if expecting the turn of events - not even bothering to move out of the way as Raidramon came towards him. Raidramon leapt into the air on the last step to pounce the emperor, only to be stopped by the green bug digimon Stingmon. Stingmon caught Raidramon and kicked him over his head, giving a stern warning, "Don't you dare lay a finger on him."

"That's alright Stingmon," The Emperor mused, "Let them lick their wounds. I got my revenge. We have business to attend to."

"That's it?" Davis gasped, winded for breath as the Emperor turned to leave. He nodded, "Oh, did you think I wanted anything more than to humiliate you? I did what I set out to do. Believe me, if I truly wanted you dead, you would be."

Davis was silent, looking at Kari then to Raidramon in anticipation of what to do. The Emperor giggled at his silence, "I thought so. Andromon! Get off your butt and release the prisoners. We're leaving."

"Yes sir," Andromon bowed, forcing himself back up. Parts of the rock parted like a door to let the Emperor and Stingmon back into the interior of the massive floating fortress. Once the doors closed behind him, Andromon cut apart their bindings to let them all go. Kari ran to Davis's side right away to check on him while Matt and TK ran to confront Andromon. The android gave no response to their threats but did warn they would be destroyed if they didn't leave the ship before it started moving again.

"This isn't over," TK answered the android before joining Kari in helping Davis up. Davis was offering Kari his best smile, which was mired by bloodied mouth. TK joked, "That's not your best look Davis."

"Yeah, but who cares about that? I like to think I still won," Davis said as they moved towards the edge of the platform. Patamon asked, "What makes you say that? We got our butts kicked!"

With a smile, Davis replied, "I got him to let you guys go and we freed all the captive digimon. That's a win in my book. But I do want to kick his ass the next time I see him."

"Davis...stop doing things that will get you hurt," Kari asked the boy as they walked along, hushing him, "Where's Wizardmon? He can use his healing magic to help you out!"

"With Ogremon, Izzy, and Kabuterimon," Matt replied, cradling Gabumon in his arms. Raidramon strode up along side the boy to nod some kind of acknowledgment towards the older boy. Armadillomon commented of Raidramon's new look, "This mon is blacker than the pot calling the kettle."

"That Emperor was just...cruel. I can't believe he'd do something like this," Cody frowned, "It makes me...so mad!"

"Yeah, he's a total jerk," Yolei agreed, then noting, "I still can't shake the feeling I've heard his voice before. I missed it the last time we fought him but it was very familiar. I just don't know why."

Matt apologized to his partner, "I'm sorry Gabumon. I shouldn't have made you fight Andromon like that. Not after the beating you took."

"Hey, we had to help our friends didn't we?" Gabumon replied with a weak grin, "Let's get out of here."

The digimon who could fly digivolved to their flying forms and took to the air. As soon as they lifted off, the flying rock rumbled and began to move. Despite its massive size, it moved faster than any of them could fly and quickly disappeared over the horizon. Although they'd managed to free the digimon from the camp, most felt like they'd been defeated. Only Davis and Matt were willing to call today a win.


	6. The Oil Rig

The digidestined's return to the Real World was as dramatic as ever, with everyone falling over themselves in an attempt to get out quickly. It was late now and the sun was setting over the horizon. Davis somehow ended up at the bottom of the pile and grunted in pain, "AH! WHY?"

"What? How did you end up down there? I was ahead of you!" Yolei asked the boy as she climbed off.

"His big head weighs him down," DemiVeemon joked, "But it's okay, he knows how to take a beating."

"JUST GET OFF ME!" Davis shouted at the digidestined, struggling to throw each of them off his frame. Cody and Matt were were the last ones to get off him, apologizing for landing on him. Davis remained on the floor, drumming his fingers on the tiles and grumbling, "Took you guys long enough."

"Sorry Davis," Kari giggled and offering him a hand. He rescinded his previous comment with a blush, "Oh, not you Kari."

"We seriously need to address this at some point. It's getting weird," TK folded his arms and looked at Matt and Izzy. Yolei unexpectedly agreed, "You're right. I can't shake the feeling I've heard his voice somewhere before. Where was it?"

"Yolei, I don't think that's what they're talking about," Poromon said from the floor. Cody took a look at the clock and said, "It's five o'clock in the afternoon guys. We really should be heading home soon."

"I think I'm going to hold off on that," Izzy shivered, "It's leftover casserole tonight."

"Three bean surprise," Kari said cheerily, while Gatomon shied away, "And suddenly, I wasn't hungry."

"Mac'n'cheese night," Cody answered, "My parents will think something's wrong if I don't show up."

"Cody, what's mac'n'cheese? Can I have some?" Upamon bounced up and down excitedly. Matt looked back at the computer screen and asked, "Will they be okay by themselves?"

"Yeah, the Digimon Emperor doesn't come out at night," Patamon stated, "It's weird. He acts tough but he's really scared of the dark."

"It's more likely that he's returning to our world to keep up appearances," Izzy considered, "We should do the same for now. Davis, do you mind if I borrow your digivice for a night?"

Davis looked at the computer whiz apprehensively and made sure to hold on to his digivice and D-Terminal, "No thanks. I've seen what you do to electronics Izzy. I don't want it coming back like that radio."

"Oh relax," Yolei handed her digivice in his place with a smile, "Borrow mine. Just make sure I'm the first one to hear about any cool discoveries!"

"I will," Izzy said curiously, turning her red digivice over in her hand. TK recognized the contemplative look in his eye and asked, "What are you thinking Izzy?"

Without looking up, Izzy began talking quietly to himself, "The Digimon Emperor said he needed The Digimon Tamer to figure out how to use their technology, but we saw him not only activate one of their ships - but make it fly. We freed Agumon but Tamer still hasn't shown up. It's been in the back of my mind for a while but…it's entirely possible that Tamer has already been captured. Which is bad news for-"

"IZZY!" TK called attention to the older boy before he said anything more damning. He looked up briefly, and realized Kari was frozen in shock - looking like she'd been told her brother had been killed again. He waved his hands in front of her dismissively, "I mean, it's just a guess. He's probably fine Kari. There's no reason to worry about your brother."

"Right," she smiled nervously. Gatomon tried to call her attention to something else - hoping to distract her from Izzy's careless comment, "Hey Kari. Let's go home already."

"Yeah," Kari walked towards the door slowly with Gatomon following along. She disappeared out the door without another word, prompting TK to worriedly go after her, "I'll go make sure she's okay."

Cody blinked as they all disappeared and commented, "Last time it was Yolei, today it's Kari. At this rate, we'll all be running out the door in distress."

"Screw that! I'm running out there now. I'm not going to leave TP alone with Kari," Davis ran after the two. Not wanting to be left behind, DemiVeemon bounced after them, "Hey! Wait for me!"

"Well, that's a welcome change of pace," Cody nodded. Matt pocketed his hands and added his own observations, "I thought our group had drama problems. Well, I guess we still do since Kari was part of our group."

* * *

Davis caught up to TK and Kari outside the school. It seemed impossible that she could walk so fast but here they were. DemiVeemon bounced along side him, stopping when he bumped into the back of Davis's leg. He arrived in time to hear TK say, "I just wanted to make sure you're okay Kari. I mean, I'd be upset too if Izzy said any of that stuff about Matt."

"It's not the same TK," Kari admitted quietly, "You know where your brother is."

"Kari, I think it's better that you don't know where he is," Gatomon added in her own attempt to support the girl, "If you did, you'd probably be in as much trouble as he is. If I learned anything about him or Agumon, it's that they both know how to lie low. He's probably safe. And if he has been captured, it's only because he wanted to be."

"Yeah, unless you count that one time with Etemon," Patamon added quietly.

"Patamon!" TK moaned in disbelief. Realizing what he'd done, the digimon apologized and tried assuring her he didn't mean anything by it. Davis decided to finally ask how she was, "Are you okay Kari?"

"She's fine Davis," TK said calmly, which made Davis snap, "I wasn't asking you TJ!"

"TK," DemiVeemon corrected, although Davis ignored his partner, "I don't care! Kari, are you okay?"

"Yeah," Kari nodded quietly, beginning to walk away, "Thanks for checking on me guys but I want to be alone right now."

Davis started to follow her but was held back by both TK and DemiVeemon. He struggled against them but couldn't get past either one, "Hey, let me go!"

"Davis, she wants to be alone," TK repeated, "Give her some space."

"I just want to make sure she's fine," Davis repeated, still trying to follow the girl as she walked alone down the street. TK sighed, "Believe me. She will be. Gatomon is with her too so if anything bad happens, she'll be there to protect her. She may not look it, but that little digimon is probably one of the strongest on our side."

Davis finally relaxed enough that TK felt safe letting the boy go. Davis' shoulders slumped in defeat as he watched the girl disappear with Gatomon following along behind her. Quietly, he admitted, "I'm just worried, you know? I haven't seen her this down since the day we met."

"Your crush can wait a day while she gets herself together," TK said, patting the boy on his shoulders. Davis's reaction was far from expected as he recoiled away, as if trying to deny the claim but unable to bring himself to do it. TK chuckled, then shivered as he reminded himself of the ever possible fact that Kari only liked him because of his resemblance to her brother. That was a thought that was too disquieting.

* * *

Kari returned to the school the next day with Gatomon, finding the school gate still unlocked and the front door wide open. She hurried inside to the computer lab where Yolei excitedly asked Izzy for any new information about the digivice. With them was someone neither Kari or Gatomon were expecting to find - Joe Kido. He adjusted his glasses upon seeing them and smiled, "Hey you two. Hope you don't mind if I crash this party."

Kari noted the duffel bag he had under his arm and greeted him, "No, it's good to see you. And I know Gomamon will be happy to see you too. What's in the bag?"

"Supplies. Izzy asked me to come along because we're going to have to cross the ocean to go after the Digimon Emperor," Joe explained, unzipping the bag to show its contents - first aid supplies, canned food, bottles of water, toiletries, baseball bats, and what looked to be bottles of medicine. Kari joked, "Good old reliable Joe."

"That's me," he said then turned to Yolei, "So, who are you and who's your partner?"

"I'm Yolei and this is my partner Poromon," Yolei introduced herself and the little pink bird in her arms. Poromon waved enthusiastically, "Hiya!"

"You guys are much more used to this than I was a few years back," Joe recalled, thinking back on his own experiences in the Digital World years ago, "So congratulations for that."

"I don't think there's ever been a bigger worry wort than you Joe," Izzy mused. Gatomon sniffed the bag carefully, "I smell tuna. Is there tuna?"

"For an emergency, yes," Joe said, quickly zipping up the bag so that she couldn't get to the canned treat. The door to the computer lab slid open so the remaining members of the digidestined could join them - TK, Patamon, Davis, DemiVeemon, Cody and Upamon. Davis asked, "Hey, you guys weren't going to the Digital World without us were you?"

"Of course not," Yolei said, glancing around anxiously, "Is Matt not here?"

"No, he got a call last night and his band got a gig later this week," TK told the group, "So they're doing some more practice to get some new songs ready."

"Oh," Yolei's heart sank. She reached beneath the table and produced a plastic bag, "I brought some snacks for our digimon by the way. Something for them to like since...I haven't really done much since joining. It was my way of saying sorry."

"Don't be," Cody said, only for Upamon to bounce out of his arms. DemiVeemon joined him as they went to the plastic bag and sniffed it, "It smells sweet! Can we have some?"

"Help yourselves," Yolei smiled, "There's chocolate, fruit snacks, pudding, juice, jello, all kinds of stuff. I get it free from my parent's convenience store."

"Yeah!" DemiVeemon and Upamon pulled out chocolate bars and bags of dried fruit. Poromon hopped out of Yolei's arms to try some as well, taking a bite out of one of the bags and screaming out in panic, "AH! IT'S HOT! IT'S SO HOT! OWIE! OW! OW! OW!"

"Oh, I should've mentioned there was some spicy snacks in there," Yolei offered half apologetically as her partner crashed into DemiVeemon and both fell of the computer table. They burst into laughter and Gatomon sighed, "Oh man. I hope my first litter doesn't act this way."

"You want kittens Gatomon?" Kari asked, unaware that her partner wanted to ever have kids. She nodded, "Eventually, yeah."

"I'm glad you're all here now. It means we can finally get started," Izzy said, producing Yolei's digivice, "After examining the digivice, I've discovered that the new model is not only easier to work with but has three primary functions. I've called them Digital, Detect, and Discover. Digital refers to its power to digivolve digimon and open the gate to the Digital World. Detect refers to the map function. The last function, Discover refers to the overlay that locates digieggs, other digivices, and digimon."

"Oh wow, cool!" Yolei took her digivice back excitedly, "I definitely want to use the Detect function when we get there. It'd be nice if we knew where we're going."

"That's the thing. Detect doesn't seem limited to the Digital World," Izzy pressed a button on the device, "It seems to adjust itself for which ever world we're in. I don't know if this was part of Tamer's plan but he definitely gave this quite a bit of thought."

"If we have it, that means we're going to need it eventually," Joe stroked his chin thoughtfully, "Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone through the trouble of giving it to us."

"I think that's enough explanation for now," TK said, "Let's head to the Digital World. That Digimon Emperor has a head start on us and we have a lot of catching up to do."

"Wait, who's he?" Cody pointed at Joe in confusion. He waved, "Hi! I'm Joe Kido. I'm a digidestined like you guys."

Cody bowed his head, "It's very nice to-"

"Glad that's out of the way!" Davis interrupted and pointed his digivice at the screen, "Digiport open!"

* * *

They arrived in Digital World with ease, landing on their feet expertly except for Joe who rolled out of the gate, "OW! I don't think I'm ever going to get used to that. I really wish we could just use that old street car from last time."

"Same," Izzy offered a hand to help him up, "Let's go find our partners. They're probably still waiting for us in that tree. Oh, and so there's no surprises - Ogremon and Wizardmon are back."

Joe paused in surprise - quietly contemplating another thought, "So...does that mean the Dark Masters are-"

"I really hope not," Izzy shook his head, "But Wizardmon doesn't remember us. Remember what Tamer said? I think Wizardmon wasn't able to retain his memories when he reformatted. He knows about us, but he doesn't know us anymore."

"Well...that's disappointing," Joe sighed. It didn't take them long to reach the tree where their digimon were waiting for them. Ogremon stood at the entrance into the hollowed out tree with his club at the ready, and greeted the digidestined enthusiastically upon seeing them. This summoned the other digimon out of the tree, and now it was Gomamon's turn to be happy, "JOE!"

"Hey Gomamon!" Joe kneeled down for his partner. Gomamon was taken aback by the height difference, "Geez Joe! You're a giant now! What happened?"

"Puberty," Joe replied, "I always was a few years older than the others. What do you think?"

He brushed his chin to show the few chin hairs on there, "Had to start shaving."

"You? Taking a sharp object to your face? Who are you and what happened to my Joe?" Gomamon gasped playfully. Joe stood up and turned away, "Oh I see how it is."

Then they burst into laughter, "Oh man, I missed this buddy."

"I missed you too, Joe," Gomamon said. The heart felt reunion was broken again when they took note of the unconscious Agumon still sleeping inside the tree. The older boy marched past his partner to inspect the rookie digimon, "I heard about what happened to Agumon. Has he moved at all since you guys rescued him?"

"No, he hasn't," Gabumon shook his head. Joe retrieved a stethoscope from his duffel bag and listened to the dinosaur's chest intently. After a few minutes, "His heart's beating and he's still breathing. But if he hasn't moved in a few days, all I can say is he's likely in a coma. You guys said he had more than one dark ring on him. We know one dark ring can confuse a digimon when it comes off. Maybe having that many messed him up somehow."

This news was disappointing to hear, especially hear Kari. She frowned and turned away from the rest of the group, so TK tried to change the subject, "There's no point in worrying about what we can't help. We still have to go after the Digimon Emperor. Who knows what he's doing with that ship of his."

"That's where I come in!" Gomamon hopped along, "I become Zudomon and ferry you guys across."

"And when he gets tired, I'll carry you!" Tentomon said. Joe looked around the forest carefully, "Shouldn't we destroy those control spires first? I heard he needs them to use those dark rings of his."

"Nah. The emperor never came back after last time," Biyomon stated, "He just left, so there aren't any new control spires or dark rings to be controlled by them. Wherever he went, it's across the ocean."

"Yeah. Let's use that new Discover feature to see if we can find him," Yolei said while fiddling with her digivice. Hawkmon cocked his head to side, "Honestly Yolei, I doubt he would even show up on your screen if he's so far away."

"Got him," Yolei's smile widened, to Hawkmon's surprise, "He's east of here, just sitting out in the middle of the ocean."

"Well now we have a direction," Davis declared, punching his fist into his palm. Veemon cheered excitedly, "And I want shome payback for what he did to ush yeshterday! Like Davish shaid, let'sh kick hish assh!"

"Well ya'll certainly are rarin to go," Armadillomon observed of the pair, "I reckon we gots a score to settle too, what with him tyin' us up and all."

"Okay! Let's go!"

* * *

Ogremon carried the unconscious Agumon over his shoulder as they made their way to the beach. Gomamon digivolved to his massive ultimate form of Zudomon and made his way out to the water for the others to climb on his back. Soon, they were out to sea after the Digimon Emperor and his flying fortress. The whole time, Cody kept his eyes trained specifically on Joe as they sailed along - anxious but for a reason only he would know. Eventually, Joe took notice and asked, "Hey, Cody. Is something the matter?"

Cody replied by quickly bowing his head, and saying, "It's nice to meet you Joe."

Joe blinked and a beat of silence followed before he asked, "Yeah, same. Um…is there, something you wanted to talk about?"

"No, my dad just said to greet everyone properly," Cody explained with an embarrassed face as he turned to look back out onto the water. Joe raised an eyebrow curiously, recalling something his father said about grief years back but kept it to himself. There was no need to cause alarm.

"Y'know Joe. I'm surprised you haven't thrown up yet," TK pointed out to the others, "Normally, you'd be passing out from sea sickness."

Joe produced a bottle of pills from his duffel, "I took some medicine before we came to the Digital World, get it in my system faster. Works great. Want one?"

"I'm good thanks," TK nodded. It felt like a significant amount of time passed before Davis groaned, "GAH! ARE WE THERE YET!? ALL THIS SITTING AROUND IS BORING ME TO DEATH."

"If you don't stop shouting, I'll make sure the water does it first," Gatomon grumbled, being awoken from her nap on Kari's lap. Kari giggled and stroked Gatomon's back, "Play nice Gatomon."

Gatomon grunted and curled back up before closing her eyes again. Davis sighed, "How much longer do we have to deal with this?"

"Not much longer," Yolei pointed ahead, "According to the digivice, it should be over the horizon…now!"

In the distance, they could make out a steel structure suspended above water and smokestacks billowing black clouds. Izzy pointed out, "It's an oil rig."

Yolei shook her digivice, "Huh. Thing must be busted. It says that's where the Emperor is, but that's not his ship."

"Maybe he crashed it and is stuck there," Hawkmon suggested, stretching his wings, "I'll go scout ahead."

"Me too," Biyomon spread her own wings and joined Hawkmon as they both flew ahead. Davis ran to Zudomon's head and winced to get a better look but Veemon snickered, "You won't be able to shee better from thish far Davish."

"I'm just ready to punch the Emperor in his face," Davis said. It took them a little bit longer to finally reach the oil rig and, on arrival, they found a ladder on one of the support columns leading up to the main deck. Biyomon and Hawkmon landed returned as Zudomon came along side the ladder to report their findings.

"It's deserted," Hawkmon said, "If there was anyone there, they've left."

"Maybe the digimon went on strike," Yolei suggested hopefully, "Y'know, went somewhere else?"

"Or they're all on lunch…at the same time," Biyomon's tone started hopeful then regressed to a sad acknowledgement of the absurdity of the idea.

"Nah, they're probably hiding," TK said as he was the first one up the ladder, "Which means we're walking into a trap. But since we know it's a trap, we won't fall for it. So let's set it off."

"This is just going to be like that sneaking mission on that video game!" Davis said excitedly, following him up the ladder next, "Steel Machine Liquid - The Liquid Viper Stories!"

"The Tamer would be very proud," Izzy face palmed. Patamon cocked his head to the side and flew up after his partner, "Yeah, it's weird how one acts like him and other looks like him."

"Is it bad that I'm kind of hoping he's not here?" Joe asked with a half smile, "One was annoying, three is a nightmare."

"Could you imagine?" Gabumon shivered. Kari took this chance to remind them of the fact that she wanted to save her brother and said, "I just hope he's here."

"I'll teleport ahead - make sure we aren't actually walking into a trap," Wizardmon nodded, snapping his fingers and vanishing with a sudden gust of wind. Everyone steadily made their way up the long ladder, with Yolei and Izzy going last. Before Yolei started to climb, she noticed Izzy busy with the D-Terminal and asked, "What'cha doin' Izzy?"

"Letting the others know where we are," Izzy replied, "Which reminds me. I forgot to mention that the D-Terminal acts as a messaging system. It doesn't support voice calling but brief text messages are sent through quickly."

"I wonder if I could use these to email my parents?" Yolei thought aloud. Izzy put his away and answered, "No time to waste on that, let's get up there."

Yolei went up first, followed by Izzy. Zudomon regressed to Gomamon and clamored onto Izzy to pull him up. The ladder climb was nerve wracking as the wind blew harder the higher they went. At the very top was a hatch locked by a turning wheel. TK turned it with difficulty using his only hand, desperately holding the ladder so that he didn't slip before finally raising the hatch. There, Wizardmon greeted them with a friendly taunt, "I was wondering when you were going to show up. I checked around the deck but there's no one here."

"Really? Bummer," Davis replied as he climbed through the hole, then offered his hand to help the others up. One by one, they clamored up as Hawkmon repeated, "We told you."

Yolei retrieved her digivice and examined it, "Huh, that's weird. I could have sworn it said he was on the…oil rig…that can't be right. It says he's below us now."

"Well, there is more than one level. It's possible he's on one beneath us," Wizardmon reasoned until Yolei added, "No, I mean it says he's under water."

"It's an oil rig. There's bound to be tunnel or pipe or something that goes down there. Let's see if we can find a way down there," TK said, immediately wandering away with Patamon to go find such a path. Davis folded his arms, "What do you think he's doing in a place like this?"

"I don't know," Ogremon commented, "But this trap of his is becoming harder to see coming."

Joe paid no mind to this comment, instead focusing on the fact that Cody had been alarmingly quiet since saying hi. He sensed something was wrong and asked, "What's the matter Cody? You look ill. Do you want some of my sea sickness pills?"

"No, I'm fine," Cody answered with a frown, his gaze looking down at the water. Armadillomon felt for his partner and asked, "What's the matter Cody? You're greener than freshly picked brocolli."

"Just anxious to get this over with," Cody sighed, going after TK, "Let's go find the emperor already."

"Hey Cody, it's okay to talk about it if something's bugging you," Yolei said to the little boy who firmly replied, "Everything's fine! Let's go!"

It took them almost an hour of searching before they found a spiral stairwell that descended down the main pipe of the platform. In that time, they found an abandoned control room loaded with dusty computer terminals that oversaw the drill deck, a cafeteria loaded with fresh food that the digimon forged themselves on, bathrooms that nobody used because they were beyond unclean, abandoned bedrooms, generator rooms and more. As they descended to the lower levels, they heard unmistakable flow of water outside and the sound of the bilge pumps trying to drain water out of the facility.

"This is all really familiar," TK commented, "It's like that manor all over again. I swear, if there's a painting of an angel and Devimon jumps out at us, I'm going to punch him out."

Palmon glanced over at Ogremon, "You're not going to attack us again, are you?"

"I would never. Unless you guys wanted me to, and even then," Ogremon grunted his disapproval. Occasionally, they passed a glass porthole layered against the increasing pressure of the depths. The view outside was small but beautiful - the sunlight shimmered and danced as it passed through the waves above. Occasionally, the light would move and cast shadows of movement in the dark depths but a second glance always confirmed nothing was there.

Halfway down, the stairwell fed into a central room with a computer terminal and a large window that let them all gather around to see the vastness of the ocean depths. A school of fish chose that moment to swim past and Gatomon drooled hungrily, "It looks so delicious! My dinner sings and I can't have a bite."

"It's really pretty though," Gabumon said quietly, "Wish we could go out there."

"I think we're better in here. How much further down is he Yolei?" Cody asked quickly. Yolei checked her digivice again, "Dumb thing says he's right here but I don't see him anywhe-"

The room shook violently and everyone fell to the floor. The large glass window started to crack and water began pouring in from several dents in the wall. Cody panicked, "Ah! What's happening!? Make it stop!"

"There's something out there," TK gasped and pointed at the window as a long black shadow slipped past. Davis pointed out, "Forget that! We'll drown before whatever that is kills us!"

"We need to stop the water from flooding in!" Ogremon said, holding Agumon above his head to keep him out of the rising water. Biyomon bemoaned Sora's absence, wishing she could melt the steel to seal the leaks, but Izzy said the flow of water would prevent the steel from reaching the correct temperature. Izzy ran to the console and started typing away at it, "It's Ancient tech! I knew it. Come on...come on..."

The other digimon and digidestined were doing whatever they could to plug the holes but it was a useless effort against the pressure of the seas. Joe shouted, "Izzy! Whatever you're doing, do it faster!"

"Yeah! A lot fashter!" Veemon added. After a few moments that felt like an eternity, they heard a mechanical engine groan to life and several panels shutter over their heads. There were a few more clicks and the steel groaned beneath the pressure before the water finally stopped flooding in, leaving them knee deep in water. Yolei sighed, "Well that was fun. Let's never do it again."

"Great work Izzy," Tentomon slapped him in the back. Izzy ran a hand through his hair, "I'm just glad I got it all taken care of so quick. Most of it was guessing since I don't remember what most of these characters mean. Oh...guys..."

Izzy motioned for them to come to the screen where the face of the Emperor stared back angrily, "Oh, you digi-nimrods survived. I don't know why I'm surprised...I guess I'm just disappointed that I'm not seeing your bodies float past my screen. Dumb kids can't even die properly."

"Listen up jerk! When I find you, I'm going to kick your ass so hard you won't be able to sit for a week!" Davis spat at the boy. The Emperor chuckled, "And how did you plan on getting out of there without opening the flood doors? Face it, you're stuck in there my detestable digidestined. All the same, at least I get to watch you suffer as you run out of air."

"Where's Tai?" Kari asked the emperor anxiously, "What have you done to him?"

"Tie?" The Emperor laughed, "I don't wear ties you stupid bitch."

"Don't you dare call her that!" Gatomon warned.

"Why not? Can't be any worse than what you wear now," TK joked, "I mean have you seen yourself? It really takes away from the whole, I'm a serious threat! You look like you tried to dress up as a vampire but only had whatever was in your closet."

"SHUT! UP!" The emperor snapped angrily, "Grah! You're worse than that insufferable Tamer!"

"Does that mean you do have him?" Izzy asked. The Emperor cleared his throat, "Never you mind! Anyway, I've decided to have MegaSeadramon supervise your demise. He's out there now to make sure none of you escape. Not that any of you can without introducing several hundred gallons of water into your lungs."

"Yeah? Just wait til we digivolve!" Gomamon said, "We got one digimon who shoots lightning and swimming is my speciality! We'll beat MegaSeadramon and get out of here."

The Emperor laughed, "What part of MegaSeadramon is supervising you did you miss? Obviously I have a dark ring on him which means there's a control spire nearby. Good luck digivolving, you moron."

"Is name calling all you have?" Joe asked, a question the emperor ignored while TK added, "I already asked that question. And the answer is yes."

"His insults need work. He's not really that threatening," Joe nodded. The boy growled on the screen, "STOP INSULTING ME WHILE I'M TRYING TO DROWN YOU!"

Cody gasped while the Emperor laughed, "Farewell digidestined."

The screen went black and more clanks from within the tunnel could be heard above them. Cody shuddered and curled into a ball in the water, "No! No! I don't want this!"

"Cody, what's wrong?" Armadillomon asked his partner. Cody shook his head and couldn't answer beyond a soft mumble. Yolei and Joe both joined the little boy as he started rocking. Joe assured the boy, "There's no shame in admitting you're afraid Cody. Believe me, I was a scaredy cat my first time in the Digital World."

"I'm fine!" Cody spat back angrily. Yolei replied, "Cody, you're not okay! What's wrong?"

"It's the water," Cody whimpered, "It's…it's MegaSeadramon! It's all of this!"

They all fell silent as Cody took a few deep breaths with tears in his eyes. After a moment, he began again, "Years ago, when the digimon invaded - we were flying in a plane. I don't remember why, but I remember it crashed into the water from one of the digimon attacks. We almost drowned when all the water rushed in."

Cody paused to take a breath and started shaking again. Joe scratched the back of his head nervously, "Cody, I can't believe I forgot. We've met before, haven't we? You were on the plane when it came crashing down by the bridge to Odaiba. Tamer talked to you."

"Hey, that's right," TK added, "You were freaked out by Kabuterimon and Birdramon."

"Didn't Tamer call us something to make him feel better?" Tentomon asked aloud.

"We're sorry that happened to you Cody," Izzy offered the boy sadly, trying to snap him out of it, "But we'll get out of here."

"It's more than that," Cody whimpered, "My dad died that day. He was a policeman and he…had his duty. So he tried to save people when all those monsters were attacking. And one of them killed him. I didn't want to feel that helpless ever again, but I'm just as helpless now as I was then. I…I can't…"

"Cody, it'll be okay. We'll figure a way out," TK said, "That's what we do, y'know? We get into trouble and then we figure a way out. The only difference between then and now is that Tamer isn't here with us but we've been doing okay without him so far. I'd say the odds are in our favor."

"TK's right," Patamon agreed, "There has to be something here we can use."

"I could try teleporting up, see if there's anything we can do," Wizardmon said, "But without knowing how much water is still pouring in, there's a good chance I'll just be teleporting through a series of filled rooms with a chance of drowning before I make it back above water."

As he said those words, something drifted by in the water and bumped against his leg. He glanced down and proclaimed, "A pick? And a shovel…and a trowel?"

"Mining equipment! But what's it all doing in an oil rig?" Biyomon asked, scooping up some of the equipment with her arms. Yolei shrugged, "Nothing good for us since we can't use it without letting in a lot of water."

"Maybe not," TK picked up one of the picks and started wading through the water. He raised it over his head while Izzy added, "The Digital World has always been weird, but there's always some kind of logic to the insanity. If there's digging equipment here there's probably something worth digging up. The question is where."

"Wel,l I don't see how we're going to find anything in this me-" Davis slipped before he could finish, falling face first into the water with a loud splash. Kari giggled and went to go help him up as he grumbled, "The heck did I fall in?"

Yolei inspected where he fell and announced, "There's a hole in the floor here...and dirt? Hang on."

She plunged her hand into the frigid waters and muddied it as she adjusted the dirt underneath. Her arm disappeared up to her shoulders in the water and she said, "Whatever's in there, it goes pretty deep."

"Davis, you're a genius," Izzy said to the younger boy. He rolled up his sleeves and picked up one of the picks. Kari helped Davis limp out of the way so TK and Izzy could start digging down. Joe stayed with Cody for the duration of their digging. The older boy's strength was never physical activity. By all accounts, he wasn't good at anything athletic. But he did know when a friend was in need and he thought he'd be better suited to talking to Cody while he panicked, "I get that you're nervous Cody. It's okay."

"It's worse than that. I lied!" Cody whimpered, "Dad always said not to lie and I lied so much when I said I was fine. Then I didn't greet you properly for so long when dad always said...I..."

"Cody, it's alright. A little white lie never hurt nobody," Armadillomon said to calm the poor boy. Just listening to him, Joe could tell that there was a lot of baggage coming out right now from the boy - baggage that was probably exacerbated by being forced into a similar situation.

Joe took a seat in the water beside Cody, "I think I see. You're feeling guilty and...you never really dealt with your dad's death. I get it. Y'know, I had a friend like you. Well, we all did. She lost someone too when Myotismon attacked the Real World, her mother. It affected her like you, only she didn't bottle it up. It came out as anger and frustration. She vented on all of us. I think she's still venting and that's okay, because losing anyone that important hurts. And it takes time Cody to move on. But a good guy once said that all it proves is how much your dad meant to you, and how much losing him hurt you."

Joe was silent for a time after that so that Cody to have some time to process what he was saying. He could tell the boy heard him because of the way he'd stopped rocking. Armadillomon patted his partner and that seemed to help him. Eventually, the little boy asked, "What happened to your friend?"

"She moved away, but we're still sort of in touch," Joe explained, "Before that, her anger mellowed out after…something happened. It made her realize what all her anger and frustration would do to her if she didn't learn to...let it go. Not to stop caring about her mother but to...let the anger go before it consumed her and...made her something she wasn't."

"That's right!" Palmon chimed in at that moment, "She swore she'd help save the Digital World and decided not to let her anger get in the way of doing the right thing."

"In your case though, it's not anger that's eating you up," Joe explained quietly, "I think it's fear and guilt. Which is why you try so hard to do all the things your dad said to do and why you're so scared of the water."

Another pause followed before Cody sniffled, "Was it...was it easy?"

"Nothing worth doing ever is," Joe admitted quietly, "But, for her, it was better than the alternative."

Cody nodded quietly and wiped his eyes, "Okay."

"There's the partner I teamed up with," Armadillomon said cheerily.

The others finished digging up what appeared to be another digiegg from the dirt although none of them were able to pull it out. Davis sighed, "Man. That things jammed in there."

"Or you're not strong enough," Ogremon got down and tried to reach in with his free arm. After a few pulls, he grunted, "It does not want to come out."

"Now who's not strong enough?" Davis grinned smugly.

"It's got to be one of ours. Cody, you're the only one who hasn't tried yet," Yolei said, "Want to try reaching in there to pull it out?"

Cody shuddered at the thought of having to reach into the frigid waters, but Armadillomon encouraged him, "Go ahead Cody. A little water ain't nothin' to be afraid of."

Cody nodded quietly and joined the other around the freshly dug hole in the muddy water. It was deeper than his arm was long so he'd had to submerge himself in the water briefly to actually reach the egg. He felt the lump in his throat already and wished he didn't have to do this. Armadillomon added, "Don't worry pal! We'll be right here."

Cody nodded and closed his eyes. He counted to three, took a deep breath and submerged himself in the water. He felt himself freeze to the bone immediately, but fought to push his arm into the hole anyway. Once he had the egg firmly in his hand, he pulled it out easily and resurfaced for a gasp of air. TK proclaimed, "Good job Cody!"

After a few breaths and shivering, he glanced at what was in his hand to see the a half white, half purple egg marked with a gray cross. Joe patted his shoulder, "Not bad. That's the crest of Reliability on there, which means you're the one we'll be counting on to get us out of here."

"Me?" Cody gasped in terror. Armadillomon assured his partner, "Us. What do you say partner, ready to give this digivolution a try?"

Cody looked at all the others looking back at him expectantly and nodded, "Yeah. DigiArmor Energize!"

The egg in his hands came alive with light that jumped to his partner, "Armadillomon! Armor Digivolve to! Submarimon, Reliable Guardian of the Seas!"

To say Armadillomon grew in size would be understatement. What came out of the digivolution was a submarine designed to mirror something like a narwhal with painted on eyes and a wide grin. On top of its body was a cockpit for a pilot to rest prone while manning controls. The glass dome slid open for Cody and Submarimon said, "Well Cody, are you ready to face the ocean?"

Cody looked at his partner and swallowed a lump in his throat, "I am. But how do we get out of here without flooding the room?"

"I can take care of it by teleporting you outside," Wizardmon bowed, "After that, you're on your own."

"Once you take out the control spire, I can digivolve and get everyone out of here!" Gomamon stated, "I'll swim as fast as I can and get us all to the surface."

"The rest of us will just have to hold our breaths as long as we can. Like a contest," TK said with a smile. Cody nodded, "Okay. We'll go as fast as we can."

Cody climbed inside his partner's cockpit and took hold of the controls. Once the lid was sealed, Wizardmon patted the side, "Once you're outside, be ready for MegaSeadramon to come after you. He won't be happy that you're trying to escape."

Cody nodded and gripped the controls tighter in his hand to calm himself - scared out of his wits but determined to help anyway he could, "Let's go Submarimon."

With another quick pulling sensation, Cody found himself out under the water some distance away from the oil rig. He gasped at first, until Wizardmon tapped the glass of the cockpit. He gave a thumbs up and then vanished, returning to the safety of the nearby pipe. As Cody looked at the controls uncertainly, he felt Submarimon move on his own from the pipeline and into the darkened depths. The further they traveled, the darker it became, "Submarimon, can we get some lights down here?"

"Sure, center of the control panel," he heard Submarimon's disembodied voice say. In the center of the control center was a single button with the image of a light bulb that he used to illuminate the darkness. Dust floated by and fish scattered from the light as they continued diving until they saw movement and a glimmer of red - MegaSeadramon. Cody froze, forcing Submarimon to evade on his own away from the charging serpent, "He looks mad. Cody! We have to find the control spire."

"I know," Cody screamed, moving the controls frantically while MegaSeadramon gave chase. The serpent was substantially larger than Submarimon and his maw could easily bite him in half - which made speed prudent in outrunning him. They combed the darkness for the control spire, desperate to avoid being eaten in half by the process. They ducked and turned and weaved through the water as they fled the serpent, who crashed into the ground and nearby debris in his chase. As they ran, they eventually found what they were looking for some distance from the oil rig. It was so black that it nearly blended in with the ocean and only gave itself away with the reflection of the light from Submarimon. Cody shouted, "There it is! How do we destroy it!?"

"There's a button on the right control stick! Push the button!" Submarimon shouted. It took Cody a second to comply and two blasts of air shot from Submarimon's nose, "Oxygen Torpedo!"

The two balls of air collided with the spire and cracked the side, starting a chain reaction beneath the intense pressure of the ocean. The cracks grew in size but they sped past instead of waiting to watch. MegaSeadramon's pursuit ended there as he didn't see the spire until it was too late to avoid the structure. They heard a soft thud when he crashed into it followed by a blast of bubbles that knocked them sideways.

His stomach turned in protest and he wished he'd taken the seasickness medication before he climbed into the sub. He fought with the controls to steady his partner and eventually managed to make him stop spinning, at the cost of being uncertain which was was up. The surroundings were dark but they could vaguely make out MegaSeadramon staring at them angrily. It nodded its head once before swimming away, leaving them free to return to the oil rig. It took them a few minutes to level out beside the window pane where the digidestined waved excitedly upon seeing him. They had to communicate mostly through hand gestures, a feat that left Davis frustrated as he had no idea what anyone was signing and opted to make a few rude gestures. He stopped only when Yolei slapped him and Gomamon digivolved to Zudomon. Everyone latched onto his back before he smashed the side of the oilrig wide open and began swimming with all his might towards the surface. Cody sweated furiously, only able to watch as Zudomon swam higher and higher towards the surface.

Cody counted the seconds and got all the way to ten before he decided to help him along by leveling Submarimon so that Zudomon could latch on. As he piloted Zudomon up, he noted something move in the darkness - trying to reach for everyone but aiming mostly for Kari. With their eyes closed, no one could see it coming and for a moment, it seemed like it would take them. But Kari's digivice flashed a bright white light before it could, and the darkness retreated back into the depths. Cody looked to make sure it wasn't following before continuing to pilot Submarimon into Zudomon's arms. Then he went full throttle towards the surface as Zudomon kicked with his legs, still counting the seconds as they went higher and higher.

At thirty, they were almost there.

At forty, some of the digidestined and digimon had opened their mouths to breath.

At fifty, they had all opened their mouths.

And at a full minute, they were above the water. Everyone gasped for breath and coughed up salt water. Despite his prepared demeanor, Joe puked right off of Zudomon's shell - retching violently before asking, "Is everyone okay?"

"We...should be ask...ing you that," Davis gasped, "Way...to go...Cody!"

They did a quick head count to make sure everyone was here before Yolei noted the time, "Crap. It's late! We need to get home, quick!"

"Yeah, but we can't let the Digimon Emperor get away!" Izzy pointed out, "We have to go after him."

"Yeah but how? the digivice is a dud! He wasn't even here," Yolei held hers out. Izzy examined the screen and sighed, "Yolei, you have it on the DigiEgg setting."

"Oh...oops," Yolei offered an apologetic smile, "Sorry for nearly getting us killed."

"Is there a setting for the nearest gate? I'd rather go back down there than deal with my mom being mad that I'm home late," TK sighed. Yolei fiddled with the digivice, hoping to make up for her mistake, "Oh yeah! That way! It's close by too!"

"Can I see?" Ogremon asked to see her digivice. One look at the map brought a big smile to his face, "I know that place. This is near ShogunGekomon's palace! We can go to them for help!"

"Alright! Let's set sail for that gate then!" TK said, "Hop on Cody! You two look like you need a break after what you guys went up against."

"If it's alright with you guys, I'd like to ride Submarimon for a little bit," Cody said back quietly, "I think...I'd like to explore the ocean a little bit."


	7. A Plea For Help

The Emperor drummed his fingers impatiently on the command console in the control room of the war ship - watching strings of characters fly past on the dozens of monitors that filled the room. His own research concluded that this vessel was meant to escort and protect much larger ships than itself, but he still had difficulty controlling its flight or achieving more than a few percent of its full potential. Weapons systems were still offline, the engines were only operating at half power, and more of the ships own devices weren't working properly. There had been a few on board devices that caught his attention - the biogenesis machine which was capable of producing life, a reality distortion weapon that obliterated its target from existence, and a drive that enable the ship to pass between worlds with ease.

The biogenesis machine specifically caught his attention as it could create any life he wanted but its limitations offset any hopes it had. Anything it created was functionally a blank slate - it would retain some primal instinct but otherwise would be as intelligent as a newborn when creating. The reality distortion weapon raised too many paradoxical questions for him to consider using, and there was no way to power the drive with the ship operating at half power. For now, restoring the ship to full power among other functions was his main priority. He knew it would take time as The Tamer hadn't been very cooperative. If anything, all he'd done was help to sabotage anything crucial to the ship's operations. He groaned in increasing frustration as his partner joined him with a tray of snacks and a pot of tea, "My Emperor. Why not take a break and have some tea?"

"Go away, I'm in the middle of routing power to the lighting," the Emperor said, annoyed with the darkened state of the whole ship. Working in darkness was nice as he'd been accustomed to working late into the night in his room. But not being able to tell where he'd been going in the ship was becoming a problem. His partner frowned, "I'm sorry Ken. I'll just leave the tea here and you can have some later."

"Wormmon!" the Emperor snapped so angrily that the little digimon flinched, "Yes, master?"

The Emperor bit his tongue and considered his next words carefully, "Thanks for the consideration. Now leave me to my work."

"At least you're polite," a third voice said. The emperor jumped out of his chair and looked behind him to see a familiar blue hood and long coat. The Emperor winced, "Tamer! How did you get out of the holding cells!?"

"What? The broom closet?" Tamer replied, "Yeah, I walked out. You didn't think I'd be dumb enough to actually tell you where the holding cells are, did you?"

"You were dumb enough to walk into my trap," the emperor retorted, "And you were dumb enough to walk in here without your partner. Meanwhile, Wormmon is ready to fight at a moment's notice."

"Oh, knock it off," Tamer strode past the boy and inspected the screen, "Oh! Perfect! I was wondering when you were going to turn on the lights in here. It'll make using the bathroom a lot easier if we can see where we're aiming. I mean, I presume you stand but it's okay if you're a sitter."

"I am your emperor!" he snapped at the boy, producing his whip from inside his cape and using it to strike the Tamer's knee so that he fell to the ground, "And you will respect me!"

"The yelling makes it very hard to," Tamer replied with a dumb grin, "It's like when a little kid throws a temper tantrum. You don't want to respect them, you want to put them in the corner for a minute."

The emperor cracked his whip again on Tamer's chest and growled, "You will not mock me when you are my prisoner! You will obey me and you will go back to your cell!"

"Ken, that's enough," Wormmon pleaded, "He's learned his lesson!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" The emperor turned his whip on his partner and cracked it so hard that it left a mark on the poor digimon's back, "And you will address me as your Emperor!"

A moment of lucidity followed when he saw the pained and fearful look in his partner's eyes - shocked that he would ever do such a thing to him. The emperor shook and looked back at the Tamer, still on his knees on the ground but raising his head towards the emperor as if he were kneeling. He adjusted his hood so the two could look each other in the eye and the stare he received contained only contempt and disapproval. But that was nothing compared to Tamer's words, "Your brother would be ashamed of what you've done."

With those words, he'd set off his anger again and the emperor used his whip more brutally than he'd ever done before. He would beat the Tamer into subjugation if he had to.

...

Kari yawned as she walked into school that morning, rubbing her tired eyes and trying to keep herself awake. Yolei approached her hurriedly and asked, "Hey Kari! What's up?"

"Morning Yolei," she yawned again, covering her mouth, "I'm tired. I couldn't sleep at all last night."

Yolei nodded her understanding, "Yeah, I was kind of anxious after we nearly drowned."

She paused a moment longer before asking, "How did you guys handle all of this?"

"We had each other," Kari smiled, "It also helped that we weren't in school."

The two girls giggled to each other until they noticed the boys coming their way as well. Yolei elbowed Kari, "And here come your two boy toys - Davis the knucklehead and TK the delinquent. At least they're...sort of...good looking, right?"

"I guess," Kari shrugged, eyes teary from her fatigue. Yolei added, "Come on, they hang around you all the time. Don't tell me you're not interested in one of them. I mean, the way you act around Davis-"

"They're just friends," Kari rubbed her tired eyes and barely registered the fact that she walked into another boy who bashfully apologized for standing in her way. Yolei patted her back, "You have to be really tired, you're barely even noticed that guy. Here, have some of this to wake yourself up."

She reached into her bag and produced a bottle of iced coffee. Kari smiled her thanks and gulped it down, hoping the coffee would help to wake her up before the day became worse.

* * *

They'd left their digimon in the computer lab at the start of the day and came back for them at the end of the day before they started their trip to the Digital World. DemiVeemon anticipated Davis's arrival, mostly because he'd become quite familiar with his smell from the gym bag. Davis could scarcely take offense as Upamon nodded in agreement. Gatomon was simply glad that she wouldn't have to coral the younger digimon by herself anymore as Patamon felt it was better to let them do as they pleased. Yolei provided snacks for the hungry digimon who inhaled more than ate the food.

Izzy set up his laptop beside the monitor and informed that he would stay behind to monitor things from the gate. In a brilliant and unexpected twist, he copied a few notes from his laptop into the computer and managed to make the gate open, revealing not just the image of the beach where they'd arrived the day before but a map of the surrounding area. Without another word, the rest of them hurried into the Digital World.

They arrived on the beach to find the small camp where their digimon had waited overnight for them. Ogremon showed no signs of fatigue despite being on guard all night and beat his chest on seeing them, "It's about time you got back, digidestined. I was getting bored with sitting around."

"It's good to see you guys are okay," TK nodded, "Saving the Digital World is a lot harder when we have to deal with school too. Have you guys heard anything?"

"The Digimon Emperor has already started setting up control spires in the area," Wizardmon pointed down the beach, "ShogunGekomon's palace should in that direction, along with several more spires that weren't here last night."

Davis punched his fist and grinned enthusiastically, "Okay, then let's knock them all down!"

"Hold on Davis," Cody interrupted, "Attacking without knowing what we're getting into will only lead to more problems. If the Emperor is nearby, he'll just sick dark rings on our digimon. And then we're in trouble."

"Cody's got a good head on 'is shoulders," Armadillomon nodded in agreement. Ogremon raised Agumon from his place on the ground, "I think it'd make more sense to reach ShogunGekomon first. There's safety in numbers and I'm sure he'd be happy t'see you."

"What? Come on guys!" Davis bemoaned the decision, ignored as Ogremon led the rest of them towards the safety of ShogunGekomon's fortress.

Their trek led them along the sandy shores of the continent of Server, where the crashing of the waves would occasionally shower them in mist. As they walked along, Kari occasionally heard whispers from the water that made her turn her head where'd she'd always just catch a shadow in the corner of her eye. She tried to convince herself it was just the lack of sleep but couldn't shake the overwhelming feeling of unease.

When they arrived to the familiar site of the fortress, it was surrounded by a boisterous and sizable town full of digimon clamoring excitedly, as if the ever looming threat of the emperor wasn't a concern for them. The town also had a wall around it with three gates allowing entry at each side of the wall. The fortress itself, a towering design reminiscent of ancient Japanese castles, was still built into a peninsular outcropping that made it easy to defend and gave it a readily available supply of food from the sea.

They were greeted at the gate with awe by two bipedal frogs in armor with horns coming from their heads and holding spears as weapons. They marveled at the sight of them and kneeled immediately, "Humans! It's the digidestined!"

"The digidestined are here?" another Gekomon poked his head out from inside the gate, holding a clipboard and a pencil, "They're not on the schedule!"

"Schedule? Why would we need to be on the schedule to see ShogunGekomon?" Ogremon asked curiously, adjusting Agumon on his shoulders. The Gekomon frowned, "New rules ever since the Digimon Emperor showed up. No one gets in or out without ShogunGekomon's say so. Not even the digidestined."

"That's why we're here! We're trying to stop the Emperor!" Davis tried explaining, "Dude took off on his flying fortress and we're going after him."

"We were hoping to talk to ShogunGekomon - we hoped he'd be willing to help," Patamon explained.

"Oh," the Gekomon tapped his finger to his chin and examined each of the digidestined carefully before finally relenting, "Okay, let them through. But I'm going to have some guards escort you straight to the palace! No tricks and no detours."

"Well this is a warm welcome," Hawkmon said anxiously as they were surrounded by Gekomon and Otamamon alike. TK recalled seeing them during their first trip to the Digital World, and how they were armed with little more than make shift spears and garden equipment. Now they were armed with actual weapons and steel armor fashioned like old samurai armor. Even the helmets were shaped like kabuto with ornate designs on the heat that resembled a crescent moon. The tadpole like Otamamon couldn't wear the armor and opted instead for cloth wrapped around their waste to offer what little protection it could.

"I'm going to message Izzy," Yolei said, fiddling with her D-Terminal, "He should know that we're here."

"It's weird. These digimon seem different. They were never this organized," Gatomon nodded as they were guided through the streets. The streets were crowded and teeming with excited life. Among the inhabitants were the Otamamon and the Gekomon, along with Gotsumon, Pumpkinmon, Gazimon, Gizamon, Kiwimon, Veggiemon, and more digimon that TK had never seen before. The digimon eyed the digidestined with apprehension, as if their presence made them nervous. Ogremon caused even greater stir as many of them whispered about hearing he was under the influence of a dark ring. The assertion bothered Ogremon but he remained uncharacteristically stoic throughout.

They were disheartened by the looks from the digimon, but it was forgotten when they came into the market district where the many shops and stalls caught their attention. The aroma of fresh food, the style of clothes they hadn't seen before, the volumes of books stacked on top of each other, and more. Davis and Veemon especially stopped to smell some of the dishes being made at a nearby ramen shop, only to be dragged back by TK and Cody.

Their arrival at ShogunGekomon's palace was treated with little fanfare, but they were greeted at the front door by a new digimon with a body made entirely of steel prongs in the shape of a star. His arms and legs were mechanical and blue, producing a noticeably clang with each move. Atop his head was a large cowboy hat that he kept angled down to make the eyes in the center of his body appear more fierce. The digimon held out his hand to stop them, "Now where do y'all think you're going. His highness don't want no visitors who ain't been invited."

"Hey now, that's not really neighborly of ya," Armadillomon protested, "We came all the way here to see ShogunGekomon and you won't even let us in the door?"

"Starmon, you're not in charge of security here. We are," the lead Gekomon snapped, "We're going in."

"Well if you were any good at your jobs, ShogunGekomon wouldn't have hired me to come in to help keep the Digimon Emperor out of this place," Starmon spat back, "Now get these varmints out of here before I-"

"It's okay, we're the digidestined. ShogunGekomon knows us," TK stepped forward to introduce himself, "I'm TK. It's nice to meet you Starmon."

Starmon blinked at his forwardness and his eyes narrowed angrily, "The digidestined, huh? Can you prove that you're the digid-"

"Easy," Davis produced his digivice before he'd even finished, and everyone else followed his lead. Starmon continued to eye them cautiously but eventually nodded, "That don't prove nothing."

"So it does prove something," TK stated, annoying the star, "That ain't what I said."

"Yes it is. It's a double negative which means the-" Yolei began only to annoy the star digimon more, "That ain't what I meant and ya'll know it. Why are ya here anyway?"

"To talk to ShogunGekomon about the Emperor. We want his help to defeat him," TK explained. Starmon eyed them all suspiciously but nodded, "Alright, you can go in. But I'm keeping mah eye on you kids to make sure you don't do nothin' funny."

He pushed the door open and they were greeted to a familiar sight, or at least familiar only to TK and Patamon as they strode into the lavish European style entry hall that awaited within. Lines upon lines of Gekomon and Otamamon awaited them inside; every one turned to face the door with a sword or a spear at the ready to attack any intruders. The frightening display made them all jump but Starmon rolled his eyes, "You idiots. It's me."

"We know. That's why we're pointing our weapons at you," one of the Gekomon replied. Starmon marched straight towards the offending Gekomon and took hold of the spear by its head, grabbing it so that it pierced his hand. He showed no pain and didn't react to the fact that it was in his hand, instead pushing it aside, "If you're going to point that weapon at me boy, you'd better be ready to kill me. Because I will kill you first."

The Gekomon stood his ground despite Starmon inching closer to his face, and the two only stopped when TK stepped between them, "If you two get any closer, you're going to be making out."

"This is a lover's quarrel if I've ever seen one," Gatomon nodded in agreement, which made both digimon move away from each other. Starmon motioned for them to follow, "Id-juts. Come on. ShogunGekomon's throne room is this way."

The army of Gekomon and Otamamon parted slowly to let him through, with every digimon pointing their spears at the out of place cowboy. Yolei whispered to Hawkmon, "What do you think their deal is with this guy?"

Hawkmon put a feather to his chest and thought, "Whatever the tension, I doubt TK or Gatomon are correct about this notion of a lover's quarrel. I worry that we may be treated with the same degree of suspicion."

"If I'm being honest, I don't really like it either," TK whispered to them, "Last time there was this kind of suspicion, they were all trying to kill each other. I hope there's not another fight with Koromon Village."

"Quiet," one of their Gekomon escorts commanded, "No talking."

The throne room was a grand affair - so large that they felt their entire school gymnasium could fit inside. A long red carpet with golden trim ran from the entrance to a large platform where an equally large orange toad with two brass horns coming out of his neck slept quietly. Before him, several Agumon in similar armor stood guard with several Otamamon around them. One of the Agumon marched towards their group cautiously, "What are you guys doing, coming in here unannounced?"

"The digidestined are here and they wished to see Lord ShogunGekomon," the lead Gekomon grunted. The Agumon eyed the children carefully, but smiled when he saw TK, "You've gotten taller since last time."

TK looked at the Agumon carefully and scratched his head, "You were there when we beat Apocalymon, weren't you? I'm sorry, it's just that all you guys sort of...well, look alike."

"No worries," the Agumon shrugged, then noticed the Agumon in Ogremon's hands, "No way...is that who I think it is?"

Ogremon lowered Agumon down to the ground so the other could examine him. The little orange dinosaur's eyes widened, "No way. It is! Everyone, it's Agumon! The Agumon! The one who travels with the Digimon Tamer!"

That declaration was enough to stir the digimon guards as they gathered excitedly around the unconscious digimon. The noise roused ShogunGekomon from his slumber, "Digimon Tamer?"

He peered down at the digidestined carefully and took note of Davis especially - obviously for his close resemblance to Kari's brother, "I see you finally cut your hair, Tamer."

Davis ran a hand through his hair quietly, "Not really."

"This isn't The Digimon Tamer," Wizardmon explained, "This is Davis, he's one of the digidestined."

ShogunGekomon continued eyeing Davis carefully before sighing, "I see. I recognize some of you. Who are you?"

Cody introduced himself first with a bow, "I'm Cody Hida and my partner is Armadillomon. It's very nice to meet you."

ShogunGekomon nodded his approval and commented, "You're polite. You don't see that anymore in kids these days."

"You might not remember us," Kari waved, "I'm Kari, Tai's sister. You remember, TK and Patamon, right?"

"And the rest of us!" Palmon added excitedly. ShogunGekomon nodded with a smile, "I do. You've grown much taller since last time."

He paused when he noticed Ogremon in their midst, and his eyes narrowed. Ogremon nodded with a grumble, "Haven't seen you in a while ShogunGekomon. You look comfortable."

ShogunGekomon's mood didn't improve and TK could take a guess why. In fear of some kind of fight breaking out, he stepped in front of Ogremon and broke ShogunGekomon's locked eyes with Ogremon. In that brief moment where they locked eyes, TK felt himself grow angry. He was tired of this the first time it happened with Leomon and wasn't in the mood for it again. ShogunGekomon sensed his frustration and shook his head, "You're as frustrating as I remember. Where are the rest of you? I recall five more."

"They couldn't come," Palmon frowned.

"But we're still here," Tentomon added, trying to offer some consolation to the shogunate. ShogunGekomon nodded quietly but it was impossible to tell what he thought of it. Then he saw Yolei and Hakwmon, "And who are you two?"

"I'm Hawkmon, and my partner is Yolei," Hawkmon said with a wing over his chest, "It's a pleasure."

"She's awfully quiet, isn't she?" ShogunGekomon eyed Yolei anxiously. TK looked over at the girl and realized she was as nervous as the first time they'd come to the Digital World. When she didn't speak up, TK answered for her, "She's shy."

ShogunGekomon cracked a tired yawn and adjusted on the platform to sit more comfortably, "So what are you doing here? I thought I heard Tamer's name."

"That's why we're here," Kari said, "We're going after the Emperor to rescue Tai!"

TK added, "What she means is that the Emperor is control of one of those 'Ancient' ships. There's no way he'd be able to fly one of those ships without the help of an Ancient like Tamer. And Tamer wouldn't help someone like him by choice. Which means he's captured."

"Right! And we need your help to reshcue him!" Veemon added quietly, "We tried to fight the Emperor ourselves and he mopped the floor with us."

ShogunGekomon nodded as he listened and straightened himself out, crossing his arms and looking deeply contemplative, "Tamer is captured and the Emperor defeated you. What happened to Agumon there?"

"The Emperor put a dark ring on him. We freed him but he's been asleep ever since," Gatomon explained of the dormant orange dinosaur. ShogunGekomon turned his attention to the little dinosaur sleepily and admitted, "I doubt there's anything we can do against someone like the Emperor. If I were to speak plainly, he could easily enslave us all if he were to attack us. We've seen many brave digimon be enslaved by the dark rings or destroyed at the emperor's feet."

"You can't just stand around and do nothing," Cody countered. ShogunGekomon shook his head, "That's not what I said at all. I said there's nothing we'd be able to do. As in myself or my subjects. I lost them all once against the Dark Masters. I won't lose them again to the Emperor. To put it plainly, I don't want to be involved in this. I'm sure your young friend there understands. I can tell by the look on her face that she's hesitant to be here."

He looked specifically at Yolei when he said that and the poor girl somehow became more anxious at having all that unwanted attention thrown at her. Davis groaned, "So what are you going to do when the Digimon Emperor decides to just attack!? He already has like...three of those control spires not too far from here. He won't stay out of your home forever."

ShogunGekomon nodded, "If that happens, then we'll act accordingly. We have contingency plans in place and are prepared for a siege. But until then, it's better to not provoke him. Go fight your battles, but leave us out of it."

"We can't do it without you," TK made one last attempt to implore the orange toad, "Please for old time's sake. Won't you help us?"

ShogunGekomon frowned, clearly wrestling with the idea of helping them. He mulled it over, making the occasional hum as he thought before finally declaring, "No, I won't put my people in harm's way."

* * *

Ogremon was the most put off by ShogunGekomon's refusal to help. They were allowed to come and go through the city but were not allowed to try recruiting any other digimon to their cause. They walked back from the palace talking amongst themselves about what to do next. Cody grumbled, "I can't believe anyone would want to just back out like that. There are digimon in need and he doesn't want to do anything about it!"

Starmon, who'd made it his mission to keep an eye on the digidestined while they were in the village commented, "You want my opinion, he's in the right. He's just trying to protect the digimon he cares about."

Davis suggested, "I say we just go it alone! We'll see how tough he is against all of us."

"That's a bad idea. He has a ship full of weapons and who knows what else. We'll probably be destroyed before we even get close to him," TK replied quietly. Gabumon agreed, "Yeah. We can't just walk into something like that. Especially not you new guys. You're strong, but he's obviously got skill on his side."

He looked at Davis, Veemon, Cody, Armadillomon, Yolei, and Hawkmon together with a concerned look.

"And what's wrong with us?" Yolei asked innocently until Davis slyly added, "Well maybe it's just some of us."

"Oh, right. You're a block head who runs in without thinking," Yolei replied sarcastically which angered Davis into stamping his foot, "At least I don't freeze up in the middle of a fight, unlike some people!"

"Hey! Hawkmon and I helped saved your life!" Yolei snapped.

"Veemon and I did the same thing not so long ago. What else have you done since them?" Davis asked back, "Brought us snacks?"

"Oh, at least I'm not the one who-"

"Knock it off guys! We're on the same side here," Kari tried reasoning with them until TK commented, "It's alright. They need to get all the unresolved tension out in the air."

"What'sh unresholved tenshion?" Veemon asked. Gatomon sighed, "It's some weird thing that humans do. One time, I saw a pair of humans have one of those. It ended with them trying to eat each other's faces."

"Speaking of eating, do you guys smell that?" Gabumon asked, sniffing the air excitedly. The other digimon felt an empty growl in their stomach and TK felt himself drawn to a familiar warm scent. It took him a moment but he was able to recall the smell of freshly fried rice. Without a moment's hesitation he opened his mouth to speak but was beat by another, "Digitamamon!"

Their eyes widened when they heard the voice and spun around to see Agumon jumping off Ogremon's arms and running ahead of them. TK gasped, "Agumon!"

"Agumon! Come back!" Kari shouted after the digimon, giving chase as he ran further into the crowded streets. He was amazingly fast for a digimon who'd just woke up, zipping around obstacles and passing digimon despite Starmon shouting at him to stop. Agumon skidded to a halt in front of an old diner with a wooden sign out front that advertised their free deal on fried chicken after buying a bowl of fried rice. Agumon whiffed the air again and hung his mouth open hungrily before charging inside, "Digitamamon!"

This was followed by the sound of several plates crashing, followed by an energetic, "GET OUT OF MY RESTAURANT!"

Commotion followed as the digidestined finally caught up in time to see Agumon thrown back out, landing into a roll. A large white egg with green legs protruding from cracks in the bottom marched out. In the center was another crack through which they saw the dark inside and beady yellow eyes peering out, "How many times have I told you Agumon! Stop coming in here and trying to get free meals! None of you are _the_ Agumon! Go on! Beat it! Scr-"

He paused as he took note of the digidestined hurrying around them. Kari kneeled beside the dinosaur and asked, "Are you okay Agumon?"

He rubbed his head, "I was. Oh, you're a girl now. How long was I out?"

Kari raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"What?"

"Agumon, it's me Kari," she said. The little dinosaur blinked, "You're a little tall to be Kari."

"That was years ago!" Kari snapped. The little orange dinosaur sighed, "If you say so."

Their attention was brought back to the egg when he whistled for them, "Oi! Beat it! Scram! I don't serve cheap skates."

"Digitamamon, it's alright," Agumon reasoned, "It's just a pair of goggles."

"Nice try but The Tamer has to be the one to...say...it," DigiTamamon looked at Davis specifically and commented, "You cut your hair."

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Davis asked, feeling his hair between his hands. TK slapped his back, "Because everyone thinks you're the Digimon Tamer."

Digitamamon turned his attention on TK, "Who are you?"

TK was disappointed, but reminded himself that this egg probably wasn't the same Digitamamon he'd met, "I'm TK, a digidestined like Davis. Do you mind if we come in to have a bite?"

Digitamamon kept his eyes on him, "Do you have money?"

Wizardmon raised his hand, "I have some currency if you want-"

Agumon covered his mouth, "It's okay. Just put it on Tamer's tab. You still do that, right?"

Digitamamon snapped, "Not when you still haven't proven who you are."

"It's alright. I don't mind paying," Wizardmon said before adding to the digidestined, "But let's be sure to keep the meal simple. Nothing too extravagant."

"In that case, come inside," Digitamamon said, walking back inside without another word. Cody asked, "What's his problem? He's kind of mean."

"Digitamamon's an old friend but he's kind of stingy when it comes to money. He doesn't like to do something unless he gets something for it! That's why he likes Tamer and me so much - we pay the bill ahead. Anyway, I'm starving!"

Agumon ran back inside and had a menu open before he even had a seat at one of the tables. He read through it excitedly, while the others sat around him and barely paid any attention to them. Not even when Kari made a point of sitting beside him to try and talk to him. Either he ignored her, or he was too excited by the menu to notice as he hummed quietly. Their digimon were just as hungry and began pouring over their own menus for something to eat. Starmon joined them, but sat at a booth to keep himself separated from them.

Once everyone placed their orders, Kari finally tried talking to Agumon again, "Agumon, what happened to you?"

Agumon scratched his head, "Hm...I don't know. Everything's kind of fuzzy before now. The last thing I remember is...a cave. No, it was a temple. I was WarGreymon and I was...fighting someone. I don't remember what for. We were in trouble...I'm sorry, I really don't remember anything else. It's all a hazy blur."

"That sucks," Patamon frowned, ears flapping nervously. Davis asked the question their entire group wanted to know, "So...Agumon. You're this Tamer guy's partner?"

"I am," Agumon nodded, "Who are you and why do you like him? You're not...well, I didn't expect you to look like a girl."

"I am not a girl!" Davis snapped.

"It's nice to meet you," Cody nodded and Yolei did the same. Agumon eyed them carefully, "Nice to meet you too. Who are you?"

"These are Cody, Armadillomon, Yolei, and Hawkmon," TK introduced them one at a time, "They're digidestined, like us."

Agumon made no response and focused on swinging his legs excitedly. After some time passed, Digitamamon returned with their food and Agumon quickly dove into it, "OH BOY! FOOD!"

"At least his appetite's the same," Gatomon inched away from him and Digitamamon grumbled about having to clean up later on. His ravenous display managed to rob everyone else of any appetite, save for Wizardmon who quietly nibbled on some bread. Agumon didn't seem to realize what he'd done, instead taking it on himself to eat their food as well. In between his bites, he did take the time to ask, "So...what have I missed?...Is...the emperor...still around?"

"He is. We think he's captured that Tamer dude you guys keep talking about," Davis explained, "We were trying to convince ShogunGekomon to help us since he wiped the floor with us last time. That didn't work."

"But he'll listen to you, right?" Gomamon said hopefully, "You guys were pretty tight."

"Yeah, right. Only digimon...of the same type...can tell each other...apart, remember? It'll take more...than you guys to...convince ShogunGekomon...that I'm worth listening to. Otherwise, he'll think...I'm an Agumon that you...just pulled of the guard," Agumon explained between more mouthfuls of food. Palmon added, "What's going on with that, anyway? Why are all the Agumon here? Shouldn't they be in Koromon Village?"

"They were," Ogremon replied, "Then the Emperor showed up and wrecked the place. The survivors came here and joined the guard to protect the village as their way of showing thanks."

"Which makes convincing him harder," Agumon stated.

"But he saw you earlier," Yolei said, "You were passed out and everything."

"That's still…not…good enough," Agumon replied, "You'd need something concrete."

"Well, why not that digiegg you guys gave me?" Digitamamon asked with a groan, "You two left it here and said you'd come back for it. You never did and it's taking up space in my kitchen. I was planning on getting rid of it if you guys didn't come and get it soon."

"Digiegg?" Agumon asked, swallowing the last bit off food in his mouth, "I don't remember a digiegg."

Digitamamon sighed and retreated back into the kitchen. There was more shouting, followed by a scuffle and a yellow plant with a beak for a mouth hopped out. It resembled an eggplant with vines for arms. It held a white egg with a shuriken at its base marked a green teardrop. Palmon gasped excitedly, "That's the Crest of Sincerity! It's Mimi's crest!"

"Yep," the vegetable said, "The Digimon Tamer and Agumon left it here forever ago. We've been using it as a paper weight."

"You'd better take it now if you want it. I'm going to be dumping it soon," Digitamamon grumbled emerging from the kitchen.

Kari and TK exchanged glances, then looked at Yolei - their reluctant third digidestined who still had only one digiegg in her possession. Kari was the one to say what was on both their minds, "I bet that's for you, Yolei."

"What!? No way that's hers. It's got to be one of you guys," Davis pointed out quickly. Yolei scoffed, "And how would you know that Davis?"

"Easy! You've barely used your digiegg since you got it," Davis pointed out, "And you've been too scared to fight with us since Hawkmon got hurt fighting SkullGreymon."

"Oh, so it can't be my digiegg?" Yolei took offense, "I bet you just want it to be Kari's because you have a crush on her!"

"Guys? Fighting isn't going to get us anywhere. Can we knock this off for a second?" TK asked quietly. The two kids ignored him and Biyomon asked, "Are they always like this?"

"Pretty much," Cody sighed. Hawkmon quietly added, "They seemed to be getting along so well last time too."

"Last time?" TK asked. Hawkmon opened his mouth to answer but was stopped by the sound of bells outside. Their entire group fell silent and everyone stopped eating to better hear the commotion outside. Gomamon swallowed a lump in his throat, "Well that's not good."

"We'd better go have a look outside," TK suggested, unaware that Davis was already rushing for the door. They followed suit, completely ignoring Digitamamon's demand that they stop and pay before going. He snapped even louder when Yolei ran back to snatch the egg out of the vegetable's hands, "Thanks!"

"GET BACK HERE!"

Starmon rose from his booth, "Darn kids! I ain't lettin' them get away with a dine and dash!"

* * *

The digidestined made it to the entrance of the village where the entire guard had assembled - Gekomon, Otamamon, Agumon, and a few other villagers willing to fight. Outside the entrance was an army of digimon divided into groups - Tyrannomon, Monochromon, Meramon, and more assembled into formations twenty across and five deep. Floating overhead was the massive ship the Emperor used to cross the ocean, surrounded by more flying digimon all controlled by the dark rings.

Before the entire formation was a single digimon stepping forward with a weapon drawn. It was hard to make out any distinguishing features beneath its red samurai armor beyond the claw that should've been its leg and the blue cape that resembled feathers billowing in the wind. The sword in its hand sang beautiful crimson hues as it whipped through the air and the digimon snarled at the palace angrily.

"That's Musyamon, the samurai digimon," Wizardmon noted, "But what's he doing?"

"It's a duel for the fate of the village," Ogremon explained sheepishly, "The emperor is going to want to take as many digimon alive as he can. To do that, he's going to have a strong digimon on his side duel someone on ours. Whoever wins determines the fate of the village. The emperor's chosen his champion. ShogunGekomon will have to choose his."

"So all these digimon are in trouble?" Yolei looked over her shoulder into the village, watching as the innocent digimon retreated further away from the walls, away from the Emperor's assembled army of digimon.

"Do we even have time for that? Veemon and I can just go down there and take that guy out!" Davis said excitedly, "He doesn't look that tough!"

"Yeah, I can take that guy! Let me at him!" Veemon said excitedly. Yolei snapped, "No you don't. We're going to take care of him!"

"Um, Yolei. It might be better to let them go handle it," TK suggested, "No offense to you but-"

The Emperor's voice boomed, "SHOGUNGEKOMON! I'M HERE TO CHALLENGE YOU FOR THE FATE OF YOUR PEOPLE! SEND OUT YOUR CHAMPION TO FACE MINE! BUT CHOOSE WISELY! IF YOURS WIN, I'LL LEAVE YOUR VILLAGE! BUT IF YOURS LOSES, YOUR PEOPLE ARE MINE!"

He paused briefly before adding, "BUT DON'T TAKE TOO LONG! MY PATIENCE IS VERY SHORT!"

"He really likes the sound of his voice," Agumon sighed, "So...what are we going to do?"

"I'm not going to just sit here and watch all these digimon get killed," Cody muttered, "I say the rest of us should go out and destroy those control spires. He can't control his digimon without them, right?"

"Yeah, right. We'll just sneak past the army," Tentomon remarked sarcastically, "How are we supposed do that?"

"They won't be watching any of us if they're too busy watching Musyamon and whoever he fights," Wizardmon pointed out. He snapped his fingers to disappear and reappear before them on the other side, "Besides, I teleport. Remember?"

Armadillomon peered back at Musyamon below, "Yeah, but we're still going to need someone out there who can hold their attention for a long time. Give them a good fight, y'know?"

"Right here," Yolei pointed at herself and held out the new digiegg, "Hawkmon and I have this."

"No offense Yolei, but I'm kind of on Davis's side for this. You're not-" he paused to choose his words carefully, "Davis and Veemon have the stamina for this kind of thing."

"I can do it!" Yolei countered, "It's easy."

"Sure you can," Davis smirked mockingly, "Why don't you just hang back and watch how awesome I am?"

"Oh not this again, jerk," Yolei raised her hand, "What's your problem!?"

Finally Davis tightened his fist and let out a torrent of complaints against Yolei. The rant was so long winded that he almost turned blue from not stopping to breathe, "My problem, Yolei, is that you froze up when Halsemon got injured! The first thing you did when you got back to the Real World was run off. You didn't do a thing when Andromon almost killed Flamedramon! Let's face it! Whenever there's a problem, you basically become useless. If things were turned around - if I had been the one who'd been captured with the others and you two were the ones who had to save us, could you have? I don't think you could've because the pressure would've made you crack!"

"I'm trying!" Yolei argued back, almost pleading.

"Trying's not enough!" Davis snapped back. He only stopped when he saw the mist on the edge of Yolei's eyes, and realized that he might have gone a step too far.

"Davis! You're being a real jerk right now!" Kari hissed at the boy, quietly mumbling, "You shouldn't talk to any one like that!"

"Oh, come on! We're trying to protect this village!" Davis grumbled, "Why should we put all these digimon in danger just to make her feel better? Literally any one of us would be a better choice. We're supposed to protect the Digital World so why are we putting Yolei on this!?"

"We're not! Stop acting like we are!" TK snapped at him, finally silencing him, "You should go. You and Veemon are just stubborn enough to want to drag this fight on. Meanwhile, the rest of us can go take out the control spires. It'll be easy. Yolei, don't argue with it. Instead, look at it this way. Davis is the distraction because only he would be that loud and annoying."

"Hey!" Davis and Yolei said together. Wizardmon pointed out, "You'd better act soon. Musyamon is becoming restless."

"Okay, let's get out there Veemon!" Davis said, leading the way to the gate. Veemon jumped up excitedly, "Woo!"

"Come on Yolei," TK motioned for her to follow. She nodded and joined them as they each placed a hand on Wizardmon, but she still grumbled about how she'd been perceived. The wizard adjusted his hat, "We'll go as soon as they start fighting."

 


	8. A Duel Without Honor

Musyamon paced impatiently at the gate to ShogunGekomon's Village. Several minutes passed, which he passed by brandishing his blade and gesturing at the digimon on the walls, hoping that he could bait one of them down to fight him. Any opponent would do for him - as long as they were strong. Eventually, the gate parted slowly and a human stepped out followed by a little blue imp of a digimon - a Veemon. The Veemon charged ahead, "I'll be your opponent, Musyamon!"

The human nodded and threw his digivice forward, "Get him Veemon! DigiArmor Energize!"

"Veemon! Armor Digivolve to! Flamedramon, the Fire of Courage!"

The digimon became enveloped in light and fire, emerging out as a warrior in fiery red armor. Musyamon smiled excitedly at the challenger, anticipating of the fight they would have. Flamedramon was fast, he could tell from his speed and the motions of his legs indicated he could hold this for a long time. He swung his blade once at Flamedramon, not to strike him but to test his reflexes. Flamedramon managed to duck under the attack, dropping to a slide on his knees and bending backwards to avoid the attack. In the same motion, he swung back with his clawed hand to strike the digimon's back.

Despite his speed, his attack was slow and Musyamon easily spun out of the claw's reach. The way he moved and countered told Musyamon enough. He would be fast enough to match his own ability - a worthy opponent to fight for the village. Musyamon smiled and prepared to strike again.

* * *

Wizardmon teleported everyone some distance away from the village - deep in the surrounding forest. As soon as they landed, Wizardmon collapsed to the ground and clutched at his chest. Gatomon leapt to his side, "Are you okay?"

"Yes. Teleporting that many at once over such a long distance just takes a lot out of me," Wizardmon panted, "I just need a minute."

"Will you be able to get back to the village by yourself?" TK asked anxiously. Wizardmon nodded and rested himself at the base of a nearby tree, "Yes. I'll be fine. I'll just rest here for now. You go on and destroy as many towers as you can."

TK nodded and said to the others, "Let's split up and try to find that tower. Nobody digivolve until you find a spire."

"Oh yeah, we can use the map function on our digivices and use the D-Terminals to stay in touch until then," Kari suggested. Cody was already using his digivice and pointed off into the forest, "Armadillomon and I will go this way. There's a control spire about a mile away."

Armadillomon nodded and led the way, "Alrighty then. Let's mosey Cody!"

"Let's do the same," Patamon guided TK in another direction. Gatomon patted Wizardmon's leg, "Take care of yourself you dumb wizard."

"I will," Wizardmon chuckled, adjusting his hat to cover his tired face. As Gatomon and Kari went off in another direction, Yolei hung her head, "I guess we should go, too."

"Of course, Yolei. Why so glum?" Hawkmon asked his partner as they walked further into the woods, "Come on now, there's no need for such a sad face."

"I'm just...so mad," Yolei stamped her foot while they continued walking, before hitting a nearby tree. She quickly regretted her action after her hand throbbed and she nursed the injury by massaging it. Hawkmon patted her shoulder, "You know, it won't help to take your frustration out on a tree. Is this about what Davis said?"

"Why would I care what that doofus says?" Yolei grumbled. Hawkmon replied, "Because you're upset."

"It's not him...it's that the others agreed," Yolei frowned, "You heard what he said and they all just...agreed. They think I'm useless."

"They don't think you're useless," Hawkmon replied. Yolei frowned, "Then why didn't they say that? They just told Davis to stop being a jerk. None of them actually-"

She paused for a moment before adding, "I thought at least Cody would have my back but...why am I here Hawkmon?"

"To save the Digital World," Hawkmon replied quickly, "Why else would you be?"

"That's what I'm asking. Why was I chosen specifically? I'm no good at this," Yolei kicked the dirt under her feet until Hawkmon encouraged, "You wouldn't have been chosen if you weren't able to do it. You are a chosen child, someone who can bring light to the Digital World when the darkness over takes it."

"Well it chose wrong," Yolei said, clutching the digiegg tighter in her hand before throwing it as hard as she could at a nearby tree. It bounced off the trunk and landed on the ground while she grumbled about feeling so useless. She sniffled a little bit before she heard foot steps in the forest coming towards them. Hawkmon sensed it too and turned towards the noise anxiously, "Who's there?"

Their answer came when a tall figure in a long blue hood stepped out of the forest. It was hard to tell anything distinguishing because the hood concealed their face, but Yolei could tell they would've been at least around Matt or Sora's height. The figure bent down to pick up the digiegg and gently dusted it with their hand. Then it spoke with a boyish voice, "You should be more careful with this."

The blue clothes were off putting, mostly because they made her think of the Digimon Emperor. But he was too tall and their voice wasn't familiar at all.

"Who are you?" Yolei asked nervously. The boy waved the question off, "Oh, just a hermit who passes through. Never mind that. Did I hear you're a digidestined?"

"Yes, that's right," Hawkmon answered happily, "Yolei is a digidestined, a child chosen to save the Digital World. What does a hermit want with her? Why would you go out of your own way just to talk to her?"

"Oh, I'm...kind of a weird hermit," the boy replied before offering the egg back to her, "You should take this back. If you're a digidestined, then this egg came to you for a reason."

Yolei looked at him cautiously before reaching out to take the egg. She raised an eyebrow and asked, "What are you doing here anyway? The Digimon Emperor is around. Aren't you worried about the dark rings."

The figure gave no physical reaction to the news but did reply, "Oh is he? Thanks for the heads up. I've been distracted by a thing I've been doing. Well, two things. Well, three things...and a dragon with an octopus head."

"What?" Hawkmon asked. The hermit waved it off dismissively again, "Nothing. So if you're a digidestined, what are you doing out here by yourself? And why do you look like you've been dumped on by a Sukamon?"

"What's a Sukamon?" Yolei asked. The hermit replied nonchalantly, "Talking poop."

"Ew, no!" Yolei stuck her tongue and gagged. The hermit laughed at her display, seemingly relaxed despite his revolting comment. He stretched once more and waited for her to continue. The image of talking poop was disgusting but she answered, "I'm just...upset. I don't feel like I'm supposed to be here. It's like the Digital World made a mistake because...I don't really measure up compared to the others."

"Here's an idea: have you tried talking to them about it?" the hermit asked. Yolei shook her head, "How could I? And why am I telling you all this?"

"I don't know. I guess I have that sort of face. People always tell me what they're thinking whenever I'm around. Some of them even rattle of plans. It gets annoying. Not that you're annoying," the hermit added quickly, "The way I see it, though. You can let it bring you down or you can over come it. But what you can't do is sit around and mope. Especially if it just proves them right. So what are you going to do?"

"I guess I should just...do whatever I can to help out," Yolei frowned before shaking her head, "Who are you...any...way...huh..."

"He's gone," Hawkmon remarked in surprise, "Well that's not very polite."

"He snuck up on us, then he left without a word," Yolei noted, "Hey, you don't think that was that guy Kari and TK keep going on about, do you?"

"Maybe," Hawkmon shrugged before adding, "Check your digivice! He might still be nearby!"

She did just that and entered the scanning mode. She widened the search area for any sign of their guest but there were no signals for digimon, digivices, or eggs besides the one in her hand. There was a signal for a control spire nearby, but that was all. Yolei frowned and put her digivice away, "Nothing."

"That's a shame. If that was him, they would have been very happy to see him again," Hawkmon nodded, "We should focus on destroying the nearest spires for now."

"Hang on. I'm going to message the others real quick," Yolei said, saying aloud what she typed, "Just met a guy in a blue hood. Called himself a hermit. He was kind of weird. And send."

Before she could even put the D-Terminal away, she got responses from each of the digidestined. At first it was just Kari and Izzy, but then she got replies from the others and another person she didn't know.

Kari: I'm coming to you now.

Izzy: Did he say anything?

Cody: You shouldn't talk to strangers.

TK: Don't let him leave!

Matt: Crap.

Sora: Did he have a digivice? What was his name? Did he have goggles?

Joe: Stick close to him. He knows what he's doing.

Mimi: He's trouble.

"What? Who's Mimi?" Yolei asked. She tried to reply to each of their messages but was interrupted when she felt something fly past her face just close enough that it grazed her hair. She heard the thud and saw several ninja shuriken embed themselves into a tree. Yolei froze at the realization that she was nearly killed but summoned the courage to spin around and see a small ball with arms and legs staring down at her from a tree branch above. He dressed in a bright red mask and wore light leather armor over his body. Notably, there was no dark ring anywhere on his body. It spoke with a high pitched voice that undid any intimidation it would've had, "What do you think you're doing in these woods you two!? This territory belongs to the Digimon Emperor! You kids better not be thinking about destroying the control spires!"

"You're with the Digimon Emperor? But you don't have a dark ring on you!" Hawkmon pointed out, "This has to be a joke."

"No joke. I'll give you to the count of three to scram. Then you're toast!" the digimon hissed. Yolei blinked a few times before asking, "You're kinda too small and cute to be intimidating. Who are you?"

"It doesn't matter since you two won't live long enough to tell anyone!" the little guy warned, drawing a small sword from his back. He leapt up from the branch above and swung to strike them from above.

* * *

Agumon led the other digimon in cheering Flamedramon on as he continued to fighting Musyamon. As it stood, the two of them were evenly matched and the fight devolved into a battle of attrition. Their ability to outlast the other would determine who would walk away victorious in this fight. Davis cheered his partner on as well, certain that Flamedramon would be the winner in this battle.

Amidst their cheering, ShogunGekomon finally arrived at the wall to survey the situation for himself. He didn't need to be told what was happening to understand and growled at the digidestined partners, "Who went out there without my permission? I didn't choose a champion! What have you done!?"

Ogremon stepped between them and grunted, "You weren't around so the digidestined decided to do something instead of waiting around for you."

ShogunGekomon was unmoved by his bold display, more agitated that Ogremon even thought he could speak to him. As he opened his mouth to put the ogre in his place, Agumon ran up beside him to say, "Hey, just relax. Those two look like they know what they're doing. And if anything goes wrong, I'll step in."

ShogunGekomon leered at the rookie, "Why are you out of your armor? We're being attacked! Be ready to defend the village."

"Better Ancients than you have tried to get me in armor," Agumon replied, "Just relax and cheer our guy on."

ShogunGekomon observed the Agumon casually return to cheering the fight on, wondering if this was indeed The Digimon Tamer's partner and, if so, how long he had been awake. The he wondered if he'd been faking his unconscious state earlier. He asked, "Why didn't you come see me the moment you woke up?"

"Would you have believed it was me if I did?" Agumon replied before shouting, "GO GET THEM FLAMEDRAMON!"

"Only you act the way you do," ShogunGekomon replied. Agumon shrugged, "Oh well. Too late for that now. Kick his butt Flamedramon! Dodge to the left! No, the other left! His left! Yeah!"

* * *

Yolei and Hawkmon ran as fast as their feet would carry them away from their pursuer as he threw throngs of shuriken and kunai knives at them. With each step they took, images flashed through her mind of collapsing buildings, panicked faces, the sounds of terrified screams, gunfire, explosions, and the horrific crunching of bone turning to dust. She tried to not focus on it but the memories gave her an overwhelming sense of dread. Hawkmon sensed she was out of breath and ready to collapse, so he tried to lift her spirits with a joke, "Doesn't this guy run out of things to throw at us?"

He frowned when she didn't laugh. Just then, he heard a loud crunch behind them and glanced back to see Ninjamon breaking a branch in half. Hawkmon pushed his partner behind a tree just as he heard the tree branch crash where they'd been standing moments before. Hawkmon sighed, "Apparently, he'll just find other things to throw at us."

Ninjamon appeared atop another branch in front of them and hissed, "Just stop running already! You're out of breath, I can tell."

Yolei leaned against the tree to support herself and clutched at her head, trying to push out the memories that haunted her - the massive, cavernous maw that nearly consumed her. She started sinking, much to her partner's worry, "Yolei, everything will be alright."

Ninjamon was unimpressed by her display and scoffed, "There's no honor in running away. You can't fight or you would've done it already. But you're not a coward. It's something else. Something broke you. I wonder what that could've been?"

"Why don't you shut up?" Yolei looked up angrily at the ninja, watching it leap from the tree. It landed softly and stalked towards her with curious fascination. When he was just a few feet away, he drew his sword, "Don't worry. I'll put an end to whatever ails you."

"No you won't!" Hawkmon stood between them, "I won't allow you to harm her in any way."

"Then you'll perish together," Ninjamon dashed forward, using the same motion to bring his sword forward upon both of them. Yolei closed her eyes as the blade swung towards her partner, unable to watch him get hurt again. But when she didn't feel the sickening pain of being torn in half, she opened her eyes again. She wasn't sure if it was luck or skill, but Hawkmon managed to catch the sword between his feathered hands and was struggling to keep Ninjamon from slicing him in half with the blade, "I said you won't harm her! Yolei! I need to digivolve!"

"I...I don't think I can!" Yolei whimpered. Hawkmon frowned, "Yolei! I can't do this by myself! I need your help!"

"But-"

"Do you want to prove Davis right!?" Hawkmon hissed, the sword inching closer towards him. Ninjamon laughed, "It won't matter if you're dead."

Yolei shook her head, "I don't want to die!"

"You're not going to die and I'm not either," Hawkmon retorted, "But I need to digivolve!"

"I don't want to see you get hurt Hawkmon!" Yolei pleaded, and the bird scoffed, "I'm going to be hurt if I don't digivolve! You're proving Davis right! You talked a big game, but you're freezing up now that it counts! I can't do this by myself Yolei!"

"You lack a warrior's spirit," Ninjamon goaded them, "In this world, the Digital World. There's no place for those like you. The weak die so the strong can live. So do this world a favor - perish!"

Yolei tightened her fist and gave Ninjamon a dirty look. He pulled back his sword and put distance between himself and Hawkmon for safety, all while Yolei stood herself back up and grumbled, "I'm not a warrior or a fighter. Heck, I'm not even the bravest one in our team! But at least I'm trying! I want to help and I want to make sure no one else has to do this crummy job because I sure as heck don't want to. But I was the one who was chosen so I'm going to do it! And I'm going to do it in my own way!"

A soft green light caught her attention from the corner of her eye and she realized the egg that she'd been carrying had taken on a beautiful glow that blended in the with the trees and the surrounding flora. Yolei gasped, "The digiegg's glowing! What does that mean?"

"It means you've managed to show whatever trait is on that egg," Hawkmon explained, "Which also means, I can digivolve!"

"Alright then!" Yolei held it out, "Digiarmor Energize!"

The light jumped from her palm and into Hawkmon, taking the egg with it. Her digivice hummed to life and her partner cried out, "Hawkmon! Armor Digivolve to! Shurimon, the Samurai of Sincerity!"

The light faded to reveal a tall man in loose white clothes fitted at the ends of his legs and arms with green rope. The length of ropes traveled up his back and disappeared into two large leaves he wore on his shoulders like a cape that reached to his knees. On his head was another mask fastened there by a head band with a metallic plate with curiously unfamiliar characters scrawled across it. Perhaps the most remarkable feature of this digimon were the large shurikens at the end of its limbs that were like springs made of vines. Fasted onto its back was an even larger shuriken that the digimon reached for with one of its shuriken hands. Ninjamon scoffed, "Didn't you say you'll do it your way? How does becoming a warrior make it different?"

"Because we're just going to knock you out," Yolei grinned triumphantly until Ninjamon pointed out, "Such is the warrior's way."

"And then we're going to make you tell us everything you know about the Emperor. I mean, you're loyal to him so he has to have told you something," Yolei added cunningly. Ninjamon stood his ground but made a display of swinging his sword in the air before adding, "By my honor, you'll have to take me first."

"You attacked a girl and a small bird. You have no honor," Shurimon responded angrily. Those words struck a cord with the ninja and the two crossed blades with each other.

* * *

Flamedramon grunted for breath in between swings and strikes. Musyamon had been able to avoid all his attacks. In turn, he dodged everything that Musyamon had thrown at him. Neither digimon had been able to deal a blow to the other in all the time that passed. If it weren't for the cheering from Davis and the other digimon, he likely would've collapsed from exhaustion at this point. He readied himself for another round of bouts just as a bright light in the distance caught his attention. Musyamon noticed it too and looked into the forest surrounding the village. The others were likely getting ready to destroy all the control spires, so it wouldn't be long now. He just had to buy a little more time.

"I'm over here!" Flamedramon roared, getting in one lucky sucker punch that managed to shatter the helmet on his head, revealing an ogre like face that snarled at the physical assault. His eyes burned with rage and he swung his sword more wildly to repay the damage to his honor.

Flamedramon weaved through the attacks before leaping some distance away to gain some ground. He just had to hold out a little longer.

* * *

Shurimon and Ninjamon traded blows several times. Steel clashed as they used their respective weapons to land a blow on the other to no effect. They leapt into the air several times to strike at each other but the attacks always came to nothing, leading to the digimon running through the woods away from each other as the attacks escalated. Yolei ran after them, out of breath but still trying to cheer her partner on.

Occasionally, Ninjamon would throw kunai knives and shuriken at Shurimon. Shurimon always returned the favor in kind, raining a maelstrom of shuriken on the skilled ninja from above. They both always managed to avoid being struck and continued trying to strike the other down as they ran further into the forest until coming upon a small clearing where a control spire had been erected. Yolei pointed it out, "There it is Shurimon! Destroy it and we can end the attack on the village!"

"No you don't! In the name of the Emperor, this tower will stand!" Ninjamon roared, leaping through the air in a suicidal dive meant to take out Shurimon with one lethal attack. Shurimon saw the attack coming and used his own momentum to spin himself in the air, rotating so that he could use his leg to kick the sword out of the ninja's hand.

Ninjamon gasped in disbelief and reflexively reached for a kunai knife in his holster, only to find it empty. He sweated in a panic and simply braced himself for a deadly blow from Shurimon. Shurimon used one of his shuriken arms to pin the ninja against a tree. He pulled himself towards the tree - encircling it so that his spring like leg would wrap the ninja against the trunk. With that same spinning momentum, he timed a throw from his shuriken to strike the control spire full force - shattering it to pieces with a confident grin. The shuriken dug half way into the control spire before it stopped, but the damage was enough to crack the side and bring it tumbling down like a tree.

"TIMBER!" Yolei shouted excitedly as the spire turned to dust and vanished. It took down a tree with it as it fell, before turning to data. Just as she cheered her win, Kari and Gatomon came running out of the woods, "What the heck is going on here? Yolei! Are you okay!?"

"We're fine," Shurimon answered, still holding Ninjamon against a nearby tree where he growled and hissed at the digidestined angrily.

* * *

When the rest of their group finally arrived, Yolei sheepishly explained what happened. The rest of them listened intently but Kari fidgeted anxiously until her story was done. TK spoke first, "Congratulations on your new digiegg Yolei. Looks like you did a number on that Ninjamon too."

"So Tai was here? Did he say where he was going?" Kari asked.

"Um…well, no, the hermit didn't," Yolei shook her head. Gatomon added with a defeated sigh, "The search continues. At least we know he's safe."

"We don't even know if that was him, though," Patamon remarked, "You said he was a hermit?"

"I dunno many hermits in the Digital World," Armadillomon added. TK put them all back on track, "We can worry about this later. Let's take out those control spires. I'm willing to bet they noticed the light from your digiegg."

"What makes you so sure?" Yolei asked.

"Are you kidding? We saw that a mile away," Armadillomon replied. Cody nodded and reached his digivice, "I guess there's no more need for subterfuge. Let's all digivolve."

"You two should take Ninjamon back to the village. We'll take care of the rest," TK nodded at Yolei and Shurimon. As quickly as they came, the digidestined departed to destroy the control spires as quickly as they could. The whole time, Ninjamon cursed and berated Yolei for her cowardice, her lack of a warrior's honor. She ignored him but did ask her partner, "Is there a way to shut him up so we don't have to listen to him on the way back?"

* * *

ShogunGekomon watched with worry as the fate of his village was left in the hands of Flamedramon, who's one lucky sucker punch had only served to piss off Musyamon. Musyamon assault hadn't dealt any lethal blows, but the cuts and bruises on Flamedramon's body were piling up. He waited for Agumon to step in at any moment but he never did, and that made the large orange toad nervous.

"I'm back," Wizardmon reappeared beside them, "I'm sorry for the delay. Teleporting that many at once makes me tired. Where's Agumon?"

The other digimon looked around nervously only to find the orange dinosaur missing. Somehow, the little dinosaur managed to sneak away without anyone noticing. Palmon scratched the flower on her head before answering, "He was here a second ago. How did he do that?"

"Oh, that's not good," Ogremon sighed, reaching for his club, "I guess I'll have to step in if things go south."

"Don't!" ShogunGekomon warned, "I didn't mind it if Agumon did it since he knows what he's doing. I draw the line at you taking action you arrogant little-"

"Okay, ShogunGekomon. It was weird when you had a problem with Leomon over a misunderstanding. Ogremon hasn't done anything and was on our side against the Dark Masters. He's on our side against the Digimon Emperor too. Whatever your problem is, get over it," Gabumon snarled. Biyomon brought their attention back to the fight below where Flamedramon was now limping away from Musyamon, barely able to stand. Davis called out to Flamedramon to keep moving but it was obvious that he was spent - he didn't have the energy to keep going.

Musyamon raised his sword over his head again and prepared to strike. Davis screamed at his partner to get out of the way. Musyamon dashed forward, ready to bring the blade down upon Flamedramon's head. Suddenly, he stopped when he was a few feet away and stumbled - crashing into the ground beside Flamedramon in a dazed stupor, "What happened? Where am I? How did I get here?"

The Emperor's assembled army were just as confused and lost about their current predicament. A few collapsed from the disorientation but most simply fled before the dark rings retook control. Cheers erupted from within the village at the Emperor's apparent defeat. Flamedramon took a knee to rest before regressing back to Veemon, too fatigued to keep fighting. Davis ran to his side and congratulated him for a job well done, hugging his partner and only letting go when he yelped in pain. It was a sentiment Veemon returned with his a thumb's up.

* * *

The Emperor scowled at the turn of events - the control spires were destroyed from under his nose. He should have taken the village the old fashioned way instead of giving them a chance to defend themselves. He slammed his fist on the console, "Grah! Useless fools."

"I'm sorry Ke...my emperor. We can still lay waste to the village and destroy them all," Wormmon offered to the boy. He scoffed and massaged his temples, trying to deal with the headache he'd acquired. He heard steps from behind him and spun around to face The Tamer again. But he didn't expect the orange dinosaur accompanying him, "Wow you're right. He really hasn't figured out the lights."

"What are you doing here?" the Emperor asked them, "How did he get in here? How stupid are you that you'd come here after last time?"

"How stupid are you that you'd think anything you could do would keep us away," Tamer replied with a smirk. The emperor stood up and cried out, "I can use the weapons on this ship to make a crater out of that village right now! I can end this entire thing here!"

"I'll believe that the day you figure out how to turn on the lights," Agumon snarked, folding his arms, "Besides, you'd have to answer to us if you did anything to that village."

"I took you prisoner and made you my slave," the emperor pointed at them angrily, "Why should I be afraid of anything that you guys do!?"

"Because we haven't done anything back except annoy you," Agumon replied. The emperor froze, understanding the point Agumon was trying to make. The Tamer must have sensed his hesitation, especially when he smiled, "You can still go around doing this. Just remember that the village down there is under out protection. I'd leave it alone."

"Is that it? A vague warning?" the Emperor scoffed, "And then you depart to the shadows, as you always have."

"Nah. We're going to hang around. I mean, come on. All the fun stuff is happening on this ship - you haven't even figured out the lights yet!" Agumon laughed, "Anyway, which way to the dining room? I'm hungry!"

"This way, buddy," Tamer replied, motioning for Agumon to follow. As quickly as they came, they turned to leave. The Emperor grit his teeth and slammed his fist on the console again, not really paying attention to the keys he hit. The screen responded to his input but he paid it no mind, still massaging his temple and trying to decide what to do next. Wormmon cocked his head to the side, nervously adding, "We should really stop letting them wander around the ship, master."

"I don't really care what they do," the Emperor stated. The screen beeped when it was done with whatever it was doing. He ignored the beeping at first until it became too annoying to ignore and he looked up to see a map of the Digital World and coordinates. The location itself was uninteresting, but the temple that was there was - the Lazarus Temple. He smiled, "Oh...what's this?"

As he read through the files that were available on the computer about the Lazarus Temple, he realized that this was exactly what he had been looking for. The temple had the power to resurrect the dead - bringing them back. There was a lot more in there and it would take some time to understand, to learn how to use it. But the ideas that came rolling into his mind excited him. He was ecstatic now for the opportunity present before him.

* * *

"WAAH!"

Everyone screamed as they flew out of the computer, landing in a typical pile in the computer lab side of the gate. Izzy managed to move out of the way as the gate opened to avoid being at the bottom of the pile and greeted them, "Welcome back guys. I hope everything worked out."

"Yeah, the Emperor left as soon as we destroyed the control spires," Davis smiled, crawling out from the bottom. It took them some time to straighten out, during which they realized the other digidestined were there waiting for them - Sora, Matt, and Joe. Joe ran a hand through his hair, "I see the landing still needs some work."

"Oh, hey guys. What are you doing here?" Davis asked nervously. Matt answered, "We came as soon as we got Yolei's message. It was just a shame that we couldn't force our way into the Digital World since we can't open the gate."

"Oh, you mean about that Tamer guy?" Upamon asked. Sora nodded, "If that was him, we wanted to be there to make sure he didn't skimp out on any explanation.

Poromon nodded, "It's too bad Agumon disappeared. He could have finally told us what all the fuss is about."

"Yeah, it's like we're watching the sequel to a movie we missed," DemiVeemon puffed up his cheeks in dissatisfaction. The older digidestined all looked at each other nervously, before looking at Kari. Sora sighed, "I guess we do sort of owe you guys an explanation."

"But not today. There's a lot to go over and it'll take us about a day to do it," Joe added. Cody asked, "Well, how about Saturday?"

"Saturday works," Joe nodded then pointed at them, "And bring your parents. They'll want to know about this too."

Davis, Yolei, and Cody swapped nervous glances. DemiVeemon, Poromon, and Upamon looked up cluelessly with big smiles adorning their faces.


	9. Nightmares of the Deep

Kari yawned again, troubled by her sleepless nights and terrifying dreams she couldn't remember. Against her wishes, Gatomon had started following her to school just to make sure she was okay. Every time she tried to remember the terrifying dreams she had, all she could recall were the cold sweat and the feeling of sinking further into darkness; a feeling that choked and suffocated her until she could feel her life fading away.

She shook her head and looked over her shoulder to see Gatomon a block back, following along on the fence of an apartment unit, watching her carefully so that she didn't hurt her herself. Kari smiled back at her partner, unaware of her own surroundings until she heard a car horn blare. Kari froze when she saw a black car barreling towards her, and then a hand pull her back. For a moment, she thought it was her brother who'd rescued her with his messy brown hair and goggles, "Tai?"

"Huh, no it's Davis," he answered, "Are you okay? You walked out into a busy street!"

It took her a moment to process the question, "Yeah...yeah, I'm fine."

"Well you don't look it," Davis replied, looking both ways before crossing the street with her hand still in his, "Come on! Let's walk to school. Hey, is that Gatomon over there?"

"Yeah," Kari nodded, still in a daze, "She's worried so she's been following me."

"She should be. What's wrong?" Davis asked. Kari shook her head, "I haven't had much sleep."

"Trouble with the homework huh? Me too. I was up til midnight trying to figure it out. Hey! We should study together!" Davis grinned excitedly, hopeful that she'd take him up on her offer. She couldn't bring herself to break that smile, "Yeah. But not tonight. I'm beat."

"Oh," Davis's smile half disappeared for a moment but he still managed to bring it back in his answer, "Okay. You should get some sleep."

* * *

TK spotted Kari and Davis walking to school together. He wanted to say hi, until he took note of the fact that they were hand in hand. It caught him off guard until he realized that he was guiding her, as if she needed the help just to walk. He raised an eyebrow and called to them, "Hey guys. What's up?"

"Everything's fine TJ," Davis grunted, "Kari's tired."

TK looked over at Kari and noted that she seemed to be close to nodding off. He put a hand to her forehead, "No fever."

Immediately, she swatted his hand away from her and pulled her other hand out of Davis's. She took a few steps forward, "Guys. I'm fine. I'm just a little sleepy. I'll be fine...I just need to-"

She froze, before jumping back behind them. She shook, horrified out of her mind and both of them looked ahead to see what could have surprised her so. Just ahead was their literature teacher urging them all to hurry inside for home room. Davis blinked and asked, "Kari, you're not afraid of Mr. Fujiyama are you?"

"Not him. Didn't you see it? Behind him!" Kari shook. TK narrowed his eyes and saw their gym teacher impatiently shouting that everyone hurry into the gym. TK looked at Davis who was just as lost as he was, then asked Kari, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"There's no one there but Mr. Fujiyama and our coach," Davis added. Kari peaked out from behind them nervously, "Yeah...right..."

"Maybe you should head home," TK suggested to her anxiously. She nodded, trying to tuck her hair behind her ear before replying, "No. I'm fine. Let's go to class."

As she walked away, TK noticed that she became ghost like. He rubbed his eyes to be sure of what he saw but she was as solid as ever. He looked at Davis and noted the worried look in the boy's eyes, lacking any surprise at her sudden ghostly appearance. He hadn't seen what he had and TK put a hand to his head to be sure he wasn't ill.

* * *

Although Kari said those words, she was far from fine. She couldn't focus on anything their teacher was saying, and she couldn't help the uneasy feeling of being watched. Davis and TK would both occasionally steal glances towards her but they weren't the cause of her uneasy feeling. A sudden chill ran down her spine, freezing her to the bone. Her stomach turned and the world turned gray with fog. She shivered, wrapping her arms around herself to keep warm despite seeing her breath before her.

"Kari," a voice whispered eerily, so close and yet so silent. She looked up to see a tall dark figure looming over her with large pale eyes. She jumped out of her chair when she heard it shout, "KARI!"

"WAGH!" she fell out of her chair and onto the floor. She heard some laughter and Davis saying, "Wow, good job PJ."

"TK," TK corrected. Davis offered a hand to help her stand while their teacher reprimanded them, "Mr. Takaishi, Mr. Motomiya. Stop interrupting the class. Ms. Kamiya, please take your seat."

"I'm not the one who started shouting at Kari in the middle of class," Davis defended himself. Their teacher pinched the bridge of his nose, "Can we return to the lesson or will there be more interruptions led by our resident delinquent?"

TK didn't seem to care about what any of them were saying and asked, "Kari. Are you okay? You were...like a ghost for a second."

"What are you talking about TP?" Davis demanded, "I didn't see anything! She just closed her eyes for a second!"

"I...I don't know," Kari shook, obviously shaken. Their teacher wasn't in the mood for their persistent interruptions and declared, "Okay you three. Go stand out in the hallway until the next period! Then we're going to the principal!"

The three students were quiet but for different reasons. Kari walked out to the hall with help from TK while Davis protested the complaints, "What!? I didn't do anything!"

"You interrupted the class Mr. Motomiya," their teacher scolded him. They didn't hear the rest of he argument as TK helped Kari out into the hallway. He put a hand on Kari's head again to make sure she wasn't sick, then added, "Okay, you're definitely not alright. What's going on Kari?"

"I'm fine," she replied sheepishly until TK pressed the issue, "You started nodding off in class and turned into a ghost! Something's up Kari. What's going on?"

She was quiet, guiltily covering her face and embarrassed over her own childishness. She admitted, "I can't sleep. I haven't slept in days since we nearly drowned. I don't even know why I can't! I'm so tired but every time I almost get there, I have bad dreams."

"What about?" TK asked curiously, "Tai?"

"I don't remember," she admitted, "I can never remember."

TK frowned, concerned that she didn't bring this up sooner and wondering how long she'd been dealing with this on her own. Davis joined them in the hallway, grumbling about being kicked out of class for no reason. He looked straight at TK and growled, "Way to go TJ. Now we're in trouble. Why were you yelling at Kari anyway? She didn't turn into a ghost."

"Davis, she was disappearing right in front of us!" he spat back. Kari threw up her arms, "Stop it! Will you guys stop fighting?"

They must've been louder than they thought as their teacher poked his head out into the hallway, "All three of you, be quiet! You're being punished."

All three silently stood against the wall until teacher went back inside and stayed there for the remainder of the lesson. When their teacher finally came out, it was to reprimand them for interrupting the class. As punishment, he wanted all three of them to stay after school to clean the classroom. When he noted Kari's dazed expression, he asked Davis to escort her to the nurse's office and to return right away. Kari put a hand on Davis and followed him down the hall, looking back once to see TK staring at her worriedly. The cold chill returned and ran down her back, making her hair stand on end.

Davis disappeared from in front of her, turning to cold mist that shrouded the hallway. A ghostly voice from behind her called out, "Help us. Please, help us."

"Who's there?" Kari looked behind her to see the ghostly figure again with the big round eyes staring at her. The sight frightened her and she gasped, "Shit."

Then she ran as fast as she could to get away from it, fearful of what it might do if it ever reached her. She looked over her shoulder several times to see it still behind her and closer than before without moving. It held still yet still always came closer. With each step she put forward, the figure drew nearer. Its long, slender arm reached towards her and it spoke with a deep, raspy voice, "The ocean."

"Go away! I don't want to go to the ocean," Kari panted, running even faster than she ever had before, "Stop following me!"

"Kari! Light in the dark," it said, "Save us."

Cold fingers wrapped around her arm.

* * *

A minute passed before Davis returned, gasping for breath and visibly spooked. He looked TK square in the face and gasped, "She's gone! Kari's gone!"

"What do you mean she's gone?" TK stepped away from the wall. Davis mumbled, "I don't know. She was there one second, and then she mumbled something and booked! I tried to go after her but then she said something about the ocean. After that, she was gone! It's like she was never there."

TK took a step forward to start looking but realized he and Davis were still supposed to be standing out in the hall. He shifted anxiously before stating, "Stay here. I'll look for her. There's no point in both of us getting trouble."

Davis stamped his foot, "Hell no. I'm coming with you and we're going to find her."

TK raised an eyebrow and noted the jealousy in his tone before adding, "Okay, first of all Davis - I'm not really into Kari. I'm not saying she's cute, she is. And she's nice and funny and...look, I'm just saying she's a friend. A very important friend but still a friend. So don't worry, I'm not trying to impress her. Second, I already have that delinquent reputation so no one's going to care if I run off. But you, you don't want that following you around."

Even though he said those words, he felt a twinge of guilt and tightness in his chest.

"TK, I don't care if anyone thinks I'm a delinquent. What I care about is Kari! I'm going with you," Davis spat out, "Were not talking about this either. Now let's go!"

TK's eyebrow rose in surprise at the boy beside, trying decide his motives were selfless concern for Kari or an attempt to earn points in her book. The question would have to wait until later and he said, "Okay. First let's get our digimon. Then we'll go look for her. The last time we took on something that had the power to go between worlds on its own, it nearly destroyed reality."

They ran off for the computer lab before their teacher took notice that they were gone, heading straight down the hall and making their way there. They arrived to find DemiVeemon playing with the computer while Poromon and Upamon looked on anxiously. Patamon remained hidden behind one of the desks and was trying to convince them to leave the computer alone until he noticed TK, "Hey! Ditching class?"

"No, Kari's gone missing!" Davis panicked. Patamon shrugged, "It would explain why the computer is acting funny."

"Yeah! The gate's broken!" Upamon announced happily. Davis and TK inspected the screen to see the gate doors slamming open and shut, as if something were kicking the door open and then pulling it closed in rapid succession. Every time, the Digital World could be glimpsed briefly on the other side but sometimes what they saw was alien to them. A world of multiple mixing colors or a world of thick mist with trees that swayed against a silent wind and other abstract ideas appeared. It wasn't the Digital World but it wasn't their world either. It was...something else.

"Great. Kari's missing and now this," Davis groaned, "Maybe whoever did this is trying to make sure we can't get to her."

Patamon perked up and came out of hiding, "What happened? How can she be missing? Shouldn't she be in class with you guys?"

"We don't know," TK said, scratching his head, "You said she mumbled something about the ocean. There's a beach not too far from here."

"Come on TJ! She vanished from in front of me. She's not at the beach," Davis frowned. TK scooped up Patamon and went back for the door, "I'll explain on the way."

"What!? Wait for me," Davis grabbed DemiVeemon and followed them out of the lab, leaving Poromon and Upamon behind, "I'll guess we'll just wait here."

"I hope they find her," Poromon frowned, "Should we go get Yolei and Cody?"

"No, this sounds like a human thing," Upamon said, "Besides I like watching the pretty images that appear behind the door."

* * *

Kari awoke to a cold chill and misty shores overcast by gray clouds. It seemed she was trapped in perpetual twilight, with no sun or dark anywhere in sight yet the world was bathed in a weak trickle of it. What light she could see was black and originated from a light house in the distance, its glow shifting between crimson red and royal violet. More eerie than the light was the noise, or the lack there of. Only silence accompanied her here.

The crashing waves, the wind that blew past her face, her shoes moving against the grains of sand. None of it made noise in this dead shore line. All of this led to an overwhelming dread that froze her to the bone with fear. She called out for anyone to be here with her, "Gatomon! Davis! TK! Anyone!"

Silence answered her and she wrapped her arms around herself, a small measure as memories of her past came flooding in. She didn't know why the memories chose here and now to come back to the front of her mind but it terrified her. Her brother's disappearance, her parents arguing, being left alone with their pet cat Miko, the digimon that came to kill her, her brother being stuck between worlds, leaving Gatomon behind in the Digital World. The dread gave way to despair and even further to melancholy. Then she heard the soft cry of a child begging for help, "Help me! Please! Anybody! Please! Help me!"

Someone was here with her. A child who needed her help. She ran towards the screams without a second thought. She wasn't alone anymore. There was no need for her to feel alone.

* * *

Gatomon spotted TK and Davis running out of the school right away and followed them once they were past the gate, "Where do you think you guys are going?"

"Kari's gone missing," Davis answered, "We're going to the beach to find her!"

"She's gone! Wait, why the beach? No, when did she disappear!? How did she disappear in a school full of people!?" Gatomon asked as she ran after the boys. TK's answer came out in short burtss between breaths, "Davis says she disappeared...into thin air...I think she was pulled to another world...like the Digital World only not...it makes sense since the Gate in the computer room was acting up...The last thing she said was the beach...which means she probably ended up at a beach...just not one in this world!"

"Okay, but why are we going there!?" DemiVeemon asked, "Shouldn't we try to use the gate instead!?"

"Because the first time we went to the Digital World, we were at summer camp," TK explained, "I'm willing to bet the same thing happened to her. There's a weak point between our world and...wherever she went to at the beach...And I bet that's how she was pulled through...If we go there, we might be able to go through too!"

"That's...it's a stretch PJ," Davis grunted, "I don't get what any of that means...but I thought we needed the gate to go between worlds."

"We don't. I mean, Tamer and Agumon didn't anyway. Why should we?" TK replied, still leading the way to the shore. To call it a beach was a stretch as it was more accurate to call it a board walk. The guard rail was made of cement posts connected by chain links to keep anyone from jumping over. But this was the closest place to a body of water. As soon as they arrived, TK shouted, "Kari! Are you here!?"

"I think he's lost it," Gatomon pointed out as the boy called out again, "She's not here."

"KARI!" Davis joined in the shouting. DemiVeemon frowned, "It might be contagious. I hope we don't start doing that."

TK finally stopped calling her name and groaned, "It's not working. Maybe if we..."

He produced his digivice without finishing his sentence, examining it carefully and contemplating whether or not he should do what he was about to. Curious, Gatomon asked, "What are you doing?"

"Hm? Oh, I'm just...wondering," TK trailed off again before raising up his digivice and pointing it out ahead of him, "Digiport Open!"

A wave of nausea washed over them all and the world flickered between day and night, light and darkness. This was nothing like when they'd traveled between worlds before. This was different, sickening and maddening at the same time. All the food they'd eaten in that time felt like it was going to projectile vomit out of their mouths in protest.

When the sensation finally passed, they found themselves sitting on the shores of a cold, grim beach. TK and Davis were on the knees while Gatomon curled up into a ball. Everyone of them bemoaned whatever they'd just endured, waiting for the nausea to pass and the sickness to leave. Davis was the first one to talk and growled, "TK! Stop dragging people into other worlds!"

"I didn't think it would work," TK spat up to get the dry feeling out of his mouth. He shivered from the nausea and tried to focus on the world around him to take his mind off it, "Where are we? This doesn't look like the Digital World."

"I don't know, but I feel shick," Veemon whined. Davis rubbed his partner's back to ease the nausea, "It might be the digivolution Veemon."

"Yeah, but why did I digivolve?" Veemon retched, "Ugh. Yolei'sh candy doeshn't tashte ash good coming up."

Patamon, TK, and Gatomon stepped away from the vomit pile. At that exact moment, they noticed a lone silent figure approached them through the mist. It made no effort to acknowledge them or avoid them, shambling along slowly as if it could barely stand. They moved out of its path as it continued on, mumbling under its breath, "Emperor. Emperor. Blasphemous murderer. Blood crazed fiend. Atone for the wretch. Bring the wrath of Dragomon. Mercy...mercy for the poor child."

The figure continued shambling away, still mumbling incoherently. Gatomon looked up at them, "You guys heard that right? The Emperor was here!"

"But what did that have to do with Kari?" Davis asked, gesturing to the world around them and looking every which way frantically, "I mean, let's say the Emperor is here. What does he want with her? Why did he bring her here? Where do we even start looking? And what is here?"

"Whatever it is, it's...wrong," TK shivered and hugged Patamon close for warmth, "Is anyone else cold?"

"What's the matter dude? Cold? We need to find Kari!" Davis said, looking back at him to continue berating but flinching in surprise, "Whoa! Dude, you look sick."

"I do feel a little nauseous," TK shook his head and tried to focus, despite the chills and desire to throw up. Davis shook his head, and pointed at him, "No, I mean you look like you're about to drop dead."

TK fought back the uneasy feeling and stepped forward, "I'm fine. Let's go find Kari. We can use our digivices to find other digivices, right? Can you...you use yours?"

"Huh, oh yeah," Davis fumbled with his digivice, hitting buttons randomly to pull up the map to his digivice. After several tries, he managed to get it on the right setting, "Got it! She's...that way."

He pointed off into the distance where the figure had shambled. Veemon followed his hand and sighed, "Okay, sho let'sh go get her. And hope that guy washn't up to shomething bad."

"The sooner the better," Gatomon started pushing Davis along, "Come on lover boy! Lead the way. We have to go get her!"

"Okay, okay! Ow! How does someone so small push so hard," Davis complained as Gatomon continued pushing him along. The rest of the group followed after them, traveling up the silent shore line in awe of the gray hues of the world. They never passed the figure that shambled past them earlier, but they did come along a cave where they heard soft whimpering and groans. Gatomon's ears perked up at the sound and she ran towards it, "That sounds like Kari!"

"KARI!" Davis called out after her, running in second. TK shivered but ran with them, still holding Patamon close for warmth. His partner shifted uncomfortably from being held so close, but the warmth and comfort terrified him too much to think about it. The inside of the cave was as dim as the world outside, revealing moist cave walls that breathed and moved with life. Small stones and dirt shifted with every gust of wind that blew not from outside but from further in.

It was only some distance from the entrance that they found Kari huddled over several small digimon - dark skinned with scuba gear and fins on their heads. Davis and Gatomon both called her name, "KARI!"

Kari looked over her shoulder, her eyes sunken in and dazed, "Gatomon…Davis…what are you doing here?"

"Looking for you! Are you okay?" Gatomon asked worriedly, running to her partner's side. Kari took a moment to respond, but nodded quietly. She hugged Gatomon close, smiling contentedly, "You're so warm Gatomon. So warm and…"

"Kari, what's going on?" Gatomon asked, pushing against the girl to get her head straight. Kari continued mumbling, holding Gatomon close until she shook her head, "They need help. They need my help."

"What are they?" Veemon cocked his head to the side, unsure of what he was seeing. The digimon didn't seem to notice any of them, mumbling incoherently among themselves and barely registering that anyone else was present.

"Curse the fiend, their children too."

"A curse for he and they, why care?"

"A call to the chosen wherever they be."

"Curse their children, and their children, and their children."

"Blasphemer! Blasphemer!"

"The chosen are chosen even in a dream."

"Day and night, dark and light, all for naught from terror they brought."

One of them took notice of their presence and lurched itself forward, clinging to the ground to pull itself close. With that brief pull, they noticed the dark ring around one of its arms, "Help us. The Emperor came with his rings. The blasphemer and his wretched rings. The rings couldn't control us. But the rings weaken us. Without our strength, we couldn't fight him back. We've become powerless. Please! Help us!"

"What is this place? I don't remember this place at all in the Digital World," Gatomon said anxiously. Before they could give an answer, they heard a loud gurgling roar from outside the cave. It sent chills down their spine and evoked memories of SkullGreymon with it. Yet the roar was different - something else. They didn't want to know what was on the other end of the terrifying noise and neither did the digimon here, "You must hurry! Before he returns!"

"R-right," Kari shook, "We just have to destroy the control spire."

"I didn't see a control spire. Did you guys?" Davis asked, putting his hands on his waist. TK and Patamon shook their heads, "No."

"Forget finding the spire. Who needs to digivolve when I can just do this," Gatomon pushed herself out of Kari's arms and brandished her sharp claws. It only took one swipe to break each of the rings. The captured digimon twitched and writhed on the ground for a moment before they started screaming, howling like animals. With each scream, their bodies grew in size - limbs elongated, eyes widened, and their voices deepened, "We are free."

"We are delivered."

"Out strength returns!"

"He called us monsters but he did this to us."

"Praise Dragomon!"

"No, praise the child. Praise Kari Kamiya."

"Yes, praise her," they said, becoming more terrific with each passing second. The cold chill returned to Kari and TK. Kari quickly picked up Gatomon again, "Right, we're glad we could help. We'll…be own our way."

"No," one of them grabbed her arm to keep her from going, "You will stay with us."

"Yes. Your strength could overpower the Emperor. Surely, you could overpower our lord," another said, reaching out to hold her, "And surely, as our queen, her brood will be more powerful than us. Her brood can defeat the Emperor."

"Whoa, queen? Brood? What!? I'm not doing any of that," Kari stated, pulling away from his arm and her sunken eyes becoming terrified. It retaliated by tightening his grip, "No! YOU WILL BEAR OUR BROOD!"

"NO! SHE WILL BEAR LORD DRAGOMON'S BROOD!" the other added.

"Okay, LET GO!" Davis took a running start and kicked the leg out from under one of them, tripping the digimon, "NO ONE'S MAKING HER DO ANYTHING!"

"You're kind…human children. You're all the same, aren't you," the digimon growled, "We will have her!"

They heard another growl from beyond the cave that silenced the digimon, reducing them to quivering in fear, "Our master calls."

"She will bear his brood," another whimpered, his tone gurgling and weak, "He will want her."

"We must go to him," a third croaked, before they began scurrying out of the cave on all fours likes horrible lizards. The mere sight made Veemon shiver, "That'sh dishgushting. Let'sh get out of here before whatever that wash showsh up!"

"He's right, we should go," TK shivered and motioned for them to come with, "Come on. We have to find the way back to our world."

"How?" Patamon asked from his chest, "We don't even know how we got here."

"Running sounds like a good place to start," TK said, nodding at Davis to take the lead. Together, they all hurried out of the cave and out onto the silent beach accompanied only by the dread of whatever those creatures had gone to fetch. They ran some distance along the beach until they heard the roar again, the terrible sound of something sinister stirring beneath the waves. They all stopped in fear as the sound seemed to come from all around them - mocking their effort to flee.

"Forget thish. Let'sh kick it'sh butt!" Veemon stamped his foot down and raised his fists, "Ready Davish?"

"Ready! DIGIARMOR ENERGIZE!"

Blue electricity sparked from D-Terminal and jumped to Veemon's body, striking him like a bolt of lightning, "Veemon! Armor Digivolve to! Raidramon, the Storm of Friendship!"

The blue quadrupedal dragon stretched his legs by running for the water. Electricity arced from his back and concentrated on the water with the sound of his roar, "Blue Thunder!"

The electricity scattered into the water, creating a dazzling display of light that illuminated the sea weed and rocks beneath the waves. But the bolts of light revealed nothing but sand and rocks - a dead sea without life. Kari shook, "Davis, what are you doing?"

"It's got to be in the water. Why else would they bring us to a beach? It makes sense, doesn't it?" Davis shouted, "You can do it Raidramon! Scare that punk away!"

As soon as he said that, the water began to bulge and swell. The sparks of light from Raidramon's lightning revealed a large shadowy figure moving from the deep. And then the water burst apart, allowing a large creature with long arms like tentacles and writhing, webbed wings on its back. Its head was bulbous, bouncing and shaking as it rose into the air. The creature roared to reveal a pair of tentacles coming from its mouth. The guttural howl did nothing to intimidate Davis or Raidramon.

Watching Davis's bold display, his cheers against the encroaching dark, reminded TK of the same bold stand they'd made years ago. Although Patamon's warmth was the only thing keeping him from freezing to the bone, he decided now wasn't the time to be gripped by fear, "We should go help him Patamon."

"TK, your crest," Patamon looked down at his chest, pointing out the golden glow coming from his chest. He was stunned, unsure of how long it had been glowing but it proved the point again. He held the crest of hope. It was his job to bear that crest and bring hope wherever he went. He tightened his grip on his digivice, "Let's go Patamon."

His digivice came to life and the glow transferred from his body to his partner. The small digimon leapt out of his arms to cry out, "Patamon! Digivolve to! Angemon!"

But it didn't end there. His partner digivolved one more time in a blast of golden light, "Angemon! Digivolve to! MagnaAngemon!"

Davis and Raidramon stopped their attacks to see TK and MagnaAngemon. TK had never seen Davis' jaw drop so far and he had a good guess why. The fear vanished, replaced with resolve and vigor. TK clenched his fist and shouted, "Yeah! Go get that big guy MagnaAngemon!"

"Excalibur!" A violet blade grew from MagnaAngemon's blade which he aimed straight ahead while diving at the monstrous digimon ahead of him. The blade swung once and sliced cleanly through one of the tentacles on its mouth. Yet the monster barely registered the attack and the tentacle grew back as fast as it was removed. TK took a step back in surprise, "It's like Apocalymon all over again."

"Just hit it harder!" Davis cheered, "Aim for his head Raidramon!"

"Kari. We have to help," Gatomon urged Kari, "Come on!"

"I can't," Kari shook furiously, "This place. It's wrong. It's evil. I shouldn't be here. We can't fight it Gatomon. We can't...we...we...praise him."

"What?" Gatomon asked, eyes wide in disbelief. Even Kari was stunned by what she'd just said, unsure of where it came from, "I don't...I didn't say that. Praise Dragomon."

"Well you just said it again," Gatomon said fearfully, "What did they do to you?"

"Nothing! I'm not...I just," Kari stumbled over her words in confusion about what just happened and how to explain it. She shook her head in fear, placing her hands over her ears and closing her eyes. She didn't want to be here. She wanted to go home. Now she understood how Yolei felt - this didn't have anything to do with her, "I...can't..."

"Yes you can, Kari," TK said quickly, hurrying to her side, "We can. We've faced worse before and we won, remember?"

"I don't know what he's talking about but TF's right. This guy's not even fighting back! We got this!" Davis added, still cheering his partner on, "I ain't losing to some overgrown calamari!"

"After beating Myotismon, the Dark Masters, and worse. It'd be bad if we lost to dinner," Gatomon offered as a joke to her partner. Kari couldn't help but chuckle, and realized there was a soft pink light coming from her chest. Her digivice hummed to life and shot light towards her partner, enveloping her in its glow as she shouted, "Gatomon! Digivolve to! Angewomon!"

The female angel took to the skies and notched an arrow on her bow. She took aim with it and let it loose for a shot on its arm. It passed through with ease and started melting the flesh away to cinders. Again, the monster gave no reaction as its arm grew back as quickly as it was lost. It waved one of its massive tentacles to swipe at the digidestined and parted the fog as it did. The revelation revealed a pitch black sky devoid of moon light or stars that boggled their minds.

"What is this place?" Davis asked.

"A place devoid of light and darkness," MagnaAngemon said, "It's something in between, something that doesn't belong."

"There's no way out of here is there?" Kari whimpered.

"Yes there is. We just have to have faith," Angewomon added, raising her arms above her head to summon a rainbow of healing light, "Heaven's Charm!"

The light was warm and inviting and provided some comfort for them, helping with the sickening feel of this world. From within that light, an orange dinosaur in golden armor emerged to sucker punch the tentacled monster in front of them, "Take this!"

The impact knocked it back some distance, but it simply rose from the water again and glared at the new attacker.

"Whoa! Who's that?" Davis gasped.

"It's WarGreymon!" Angewomon gasped, "Agumon's Mega form. But if he's here, then that means..."

"Get into the portal, now!" WarGreymon commanded over his shoulder before going back to punch the monster in the face again. The blow knocked it back again, but only serve to anger the monster more. He struck it again and again to drive it further into the water while shouting, "They! Are! Under! Our! Protection!"

The monstrosity leered at WarGreymon and the two faced off against each other intensely. Davis asked, "Dude! What? What portal?"

"That!" WarGreymon pointed to the glowing rainbow of lights, "It'll take you back to your world. Now go! We can only hold it open for so long."

"You heard him," MagnaAngemon descended to the ground to scoop up TK and Raidramon. Raidramon regressed back to Veemon and pointed skyward, "Let's go."

"You don't have to tell us twice," Angewomon agreed, holding Kari and Davis. They ascended skywards towards the rainbow of light. The moment they touched it, they felt themselves pulled upwards into the warm glow and were swept away in a rainbow of light. Ahead, they could see the Real World as they'd left it. Below them was the Strange World they were leaving behind. The strange monster reached out to grab them but WarGreymon always beat it back, "No! You! Don't!"

"WarGreymon! The portal's closing!" TK shouted. WarGreymon didn't respond, either because he couldn't hear or was too busy. Either way, Kari gasped at the thought of him getting stuck behind, "We have to go back!"

"No time! The gate is closing! We have to hurry if we're going to make it, otherwise we'll be stuck between worlds," Angewomon insisted, hurrying her ascent. The gate to the other side closed, fading to nothing. Kari didn't care about that though, and shouted for WarGreymon who'd been left behind. Against her wishes, both flying digimon ignored her pleas - managing to make it past the gate just as it closed on them.

They were back in the Real World, on the beach just a distance away from the school. Angewomon and MagnaAngemon regressed quickly before anyone saw the two giant flying angels. Kari took the longest to adjust to what just happened, still wanting to go back if it meant getting to WarGreymon and, hopefully, finding her brother. But with the portal closed, there was no way for her to get back to him. Even if she did, there was no telling if she'd be able to come back to this world. Her chest felt tight, her heart beat fast.

"Kari, are you okay?" Davis asked her. She nodded, still trying to digest that any hope of finding her brother was once again out of her reach. She didn't even realize her fists were clenched in frustration until TK held her hand, "Hey, everything will be okay Kari."

"Yeah," she sighed, then looked at them both with a weak smile, "Guys. Thanks for rescuing me."

"What about us?" DemiVeemon asked.

"You guys too," Kari nodded.

"Hey, it's not a big deal. We were worried about you, y'know?" Davis smiled goofily. The goofy smile turned to embarrassment when Kari hugged him. Then to jealousy when she hugged TK, "Thanks for worrying about me."


	10. The Past Guides The Future

"Suspended! In your first month! For ditching class!" TK's mom berated him for his absence. He wanted to tell her why - that Kari had vanished and he had to go find her with Davis. But his mom wouldn't want to hear it - it'd only worry her more. Instead she put a hand to her head, "Oh no. I can't deal with another move to another school district. TK...Takeru, why are you acting like this?"

"I'm sorry mom," he hung his head quietly, sitting at the dinner table while she paced around, "I seriously had a good reason."

"Oh? Do you want to share that reason with me?" her mother started to eye him curiously, her journalistic instinct beginning to kick in. TK supposed there was no longer any reason to keep this secret from her. She would know soon enough come Saturday but telling her then would make it easier, "I can tell you. But this Saturday. Not today."

His failure to come up with a better answer was immediately evident, "TK, I'm not stupid. You're a smart kid. That's why your report card is always so good. What's going on?"

TK's face went bright red with embarrassment over his bumbling, something that his mother immediately noticed. Then her eyes widened, "Oh my god. It's a girl."

"What!" TK's face turned a brighter shade of red, realizing he could've worded it better. His mother's inquisitive gaze quickly turned into curious excitement. She sat in front of him, "TK, it's okay. It's normal for you to start noticing girls at your age."

"Mom! I don't want to talk about this," TK inched away from her as she leaned further in, "Oh, it's alright TK. Your brother had this talk with your dad when he was your age."

"I doubt that."

It was too late for him. His mother had already gone into full lecture mode, "Let me guess - you've been noticing girls and trying to impress them and you think the only way to do that is to act out in school. You don't have to do that to get a girl's attention. Just...be nice, talk to them and get to know them. Treat them like people. I get that it's sort of hard for you to understand that but girls aren't some different species that don't speak in the same language."

She continued on like this for a while, and the conversation went several places he was more comfortable blocking out of his memory - dating, marriage, reproduction, and everything that involved. He ignored her for most of it because it was so much easier to not have to process any of this conversation at just this moment. At some point, he walked away from the conversation because the alternative was to continue it although she did shout, "We're not done talking about this young man! Not if you've got a date Saturday!"

"It's not that!" TK sighed, moving away from his mother anxiously, "It's something else. It's-"

He paused again, knowing he'd have to tell her about Patamon and the digimon at some point. But which would be worse? Waiting a few more days to tell her with everyone around and knowing she'd go into a full panic, or telling her now and having to deal with her full panic by himself? He wanted to tell her, but fear was the one thing that kept him from opening his mouth.

Despite every instinct telling him this was a bad idea, he told her truth. All of it.

* * *

The week flew by fast for TK as he was stuck in his room for most of it. His mother still grounded him for getting suspended from school, then grounded him again in his room for lying to her for so long about the digimon. He suspected it was some kind of vein attempt to keep him safe from his role as a digidestined but TK could tell that it wouldn't do any good. This left him alone and wondering how the others were faring without him. Kari was with them and she was just as experienced so hopefully they were okay.

Thankfully, Cody was kind enough to come by after school to drop off his homework and fill him in on everything he missed. TK asked how they were doing and Cody explained that they'd been going to the Digital World after school to see what they could do about the Emperor. He'd been expanding his hold across the Digital World despite everything they did to stop him. This meant little as the control spires would be replaced by the Emperor as quickly as they could be torn down and the fight ground to a stand still.

Sora and Izzy made trips to the Digital World to speak with ShogunGekomon, hoping to rally an army of digimon to support the resistance effort against the emperor. But talks were going nowhere as ShogunGekomon didn't want to endanger the lives of the digimon under his protection.

TK bemoaned being powerless to do anything but thanked Cody for bringing him his homework. There was another question on TK's mind since they day he was suspended, "So...how's Kari doing?"

"Fine, I guess. Davis told us about what happened. I don't approve of you ditching class, but you two did it to help her so I can't be too upset," Cody nodded his usual way. TK smiled, "Thanks, I just wish my mom could see it that way."

"So are you coming to the get together tomorrow?" Cody asked him. TK nodded, remembering tomorrow was the day they would tell the families of the three new comers. He scratched the back of his head, "I'm kind of grounded, but my mom knows what's going on."

"You told your mom?" Cody gasped in disbelief.

"Well yeah. To be fair, Sora's mom had us do it - they're our families, they need to know what we're doing," Matt appeared beside Cody at the doorway, "Besides, imagine if anything happened to you guys while in the Digital World? What would your parents think?"

"Yeah, listen bro. Mom grounded me. I don't need to imagine what she'd think or do. She already did," TK said as his brother pushed his way inside. Matt flopped down upon the bed and added, "It's your own fault for getting suspended. Davis told us about it, by the way. Good job saving Kari but I think you've left her open to Davis for a few days and that puts you behind."

"It is not like that!" TK grunted in frustration, before adding, "What are you doing here by the way?"

Matt waved his hands in the air as he explained, "Oh, dad's been coming home exhausted every night the last few days - something about work has him stressed out. He doesn't want to talk about it but it's hard to miss the phone calls. I keep hearing the word ghosts."

"Ghosts, huh?" TK asked. Cody decided now was the best time to leave and bowed, "My mom tells me not to butt into other family's matters, so I'll be going now. Thanks for letting me in."

"Thanks for bringing my homework, Cody," TK said to the younger boy before he went out the door, anxious about tomorrow's meeting.

* * *

Saturday began with a beautiful morning that spoiled only by his mom waking him up early to eat breakfast and get ready. TK skipped breakfast and went with his mom to meet his brother and dad next door, both of whom were sleeping on the couch instead of in their rooms. They stirred grumpily and quickly showered, being ushered by his mom who harried them to hurry up. His dad mumbled something about being glad they weren't together, which made his mom scold him.

Even though it was a weekend, Matt wore his school uniform and brought his guitar in anticipation of the concert his band was having later tonight. To TK's surprise, he made a point of doing his hair back instead of letting it run loose like he normally would. Their dad wore plain casual clothes and a pair of sandals - refusing to wear anything too fancy if he didn't have to be anywhere near work. Despite that, he brought his cell phone in case they called but made a point of leaving it on vibrate.

They met the others at a park in Odaiba, not too far away from the police station where they'd made a brave stand several years prior. Kari and the other new digidestined were there already with their partners, holding them like dolls to avoid drawing attention. Among them were their parents, sitting around and looking anxious. Patamon saw TK and anxiously adjusted in Kari's arms - waiting until he was closer to actually leap into his arms, "TK! It took you long enough. How was being grounded?"

"Did that doll just talk?" Jun asked, "And why does it look familiar?"

The spectacle had caught the attention of everyone present, and only the older digidestined and their families were unalarmed - Izzy, Sora, Joe, and...

"Mimi?" TK blinked when he saw the girl standing there with bright pink hair and a shirt with the American flag on it. She hugged TK upon seeing him, "Oh wow, you're still as cute as I remember you! But you're so tall. I don't like that. Can you go back to being short? You were more adorable back then."

"Hold on, what's going on! What's Mimi doing here?" TK stumbled over his words, just now noticing another boy standing nearby with wavy blonde hair and wearing a green shirt. The boy anxiously asked, "Hey, Mimi. Um, I don't really understand but what's cute?"

"Oh, right. Michael, this is TK. He was one of the original digidestined like I was. And over there is his brother Matt and their parents who aren't together," Mimi said rather flatly, introducing each of them one at a time. Michael nodded rather silently, looking both lost and clueless. Their dad pointed at her with his mouth wide open, "I thought you were in America. What are you doing here?"

Mimi winked and wagged a finger playfully, "Oh, it's a secret."

"No, not a secret," TK's mom stated, "You're on the other side of the world. Both of you."

"Oh wow! You guys are Americans? You're both so cool!" Yolei squealed excitedly, taking Mimi's hands in hers, "And digidestined too? That's so awesome. But wait, how do you guys know Japanese so well?"

"Oh, well I am Japanese, born and raised. Michael's American and knows a little bit of Japanese himself, but talk slowly and don't use big words," Mimi explained, "He isn't very good."

"So cool!" Yolei gasped, envious of the older digidestined.

"What was that? It was all too fast. What's cold?" Michael raised an eyebrow, speaking in more disjointed Japanese. Mimi repeated everything more slowly for Michael, who nodded as he listened and stated that he understood. Afterwards, Mimi turned to TK, "So, I hear you got in trouble."

"He's grounded because he got suspended from school," Matt explained for her, "I swear, he's become like Tamer. Seriously though, what are you doing here?"

Mimi smirked evilly, "Well, Michael might have talked his uncle into giving us a free round trip weekend visit to Japan to see you guys. So what's going on? What have I missed?"

Her tone became more excited as she asked, "Who's this emperor guy? Is everyone okay?"

"Before we even touch that," Izzy interrupted, "Michael, if you don't mind my asking, why did Mimi drag you to the other side of the world?"

"I think we'd all like to know," Sora's mom said seriously, shooting Mimi a disapproving look that she ignored.

"Oh, um, because I'm digidestined like you," Michael explained, producing his digivice for them to see. It was the same model and make as the older ones, although it appeared hardly used. He jostled his backpack and unzipped it to let a little green frog out. On it's back was an orange fin that resembled a mohawk whom Michael introduced, "And this my partner, Betamon."

"Hiya guys," the little frog said.

"Neat!" DemiVeemon leapt out of Davis' arms to smell the new creature, "Hi, you smell funny."

"OH SO CUTE! IT TALKS!" Davis's sister squealed out in delight, snatching the little blue digimon out of his partner's hands. TK looked over to see the two siblings start arguing while the parents looked on in stunned silence. It was only then that TK noticed a small wizard standing in the middle of their group, rubbing his chin with his hand, "Fascinating, I didn't think there would be more digidestined in this world."

"Wizardmon?" TK's felt his jaw fall wide open in disbelief at a digimon walking around in broad day light. Wizardmon took another bow, "Indeed, I came to visit the Real World in the name of research. I felt hands on experience would be the best way to acquire more information. But to think there would be more digidestined in your own world begs a question - how many of the chosen children are there?"

"He's right, I mean a digidestined? In America? How come we didn't know anything about this? And why were you chosen? I mean, I get why we were chosen but why him? Mimi, how come you never told us?" Sora asked quickly, "If there were others like us, it would've been nice to know."

"I didn't think it mattered. It's not like there was anything going on at the time," Mimi shrugged the answer off. Michael added, "Betamon and the digivice showed up a few days ago. I'm still trying to figure this out."

"If this happened for you, we can only assumed that there are other kids out there in the world just like you. Oh, how would they be reacting? Not every kid will have the same reaction to a digital monster showing up in their house. And how? I mean, I get why we were chosen but what's prompting all these new digidestined?" Izzy scratched his chin, contemplating how many other digidestined there were in the world and how they might be reacting to their digimon. Mimi brought the conversation back to where it was supposed to be, "Forget that. What's been going on in the Digital World? What's going on with Palmon? And what's Tamer got to do with any of this?"

"Yeah, I want to know what all this fuss is about already," Upamon started bouncing in Cody's lap, unable to contain his own growing excitement. Sora sat down on the ground and brushed her hair behind her ear, "I guess there's no point in not talking about this. Where do we even start?"

"How about you start with who the hell you people are?" Davis's dad asked angrily, "What the hell is all this and what's going-"

"Calm down young man," an older man sitting beside Cody stated, "It's not polite for a man your age to behave so childishly."

"I…do want to know what this is," a woman beside Yolei said, "I thought it was just a doll, but it's talking. So…does Yolei's doll talk too?"

"Not just talk, I fly," Poromon bounced happily, flapping his wings to briefly take flight above their heads before returning to Yolei with a smug smile.

"I guess we should start at the beginning," Sora said, taking a seat in the grass and motioning for the others to sit around her, "And more importantly, set this whole thing straight. What is going on and why are they back?"

The digidestined all sat in a circle - the newer digidestined on one side and the older digidestined on the other, some of the parents sat with them but other chose to stand. TK noted that although they sat by their respective families, his brother chose to sit beside the Takebnouchis. Similarly, he spotted Sora tucking her hair behind her ear before beginning, introducing the older digidestined and talking about their first trip to the Digital - suddenly getting transported to another world, meeting their digimon partners for the first time, battling Devimon, encountering the Tamer, and more. She stopped only when she reached the part about Myotismon's invasion, which Michael commented was something he'd heard about but didn't know much else since people in America had been more distracted by their own recent events. It was startling to know that two events, while half a world away, could have such an impact on everywhere. Davis, Yolei, and Cody each had their own comments on the past terrors.

"I remember that. That was when I met you guys the first time," Davis answered. Mimi pointed at him in disbelief, "I knew I recognized you! You were shorter back then too. Wait, don't tell me you actually took Tamer's advice and started wearing goggles."

"Yeah I did," Davis smiled toothily, "They work great too. They keep the wind out of my eyes and they look cool too."

"Sure they do," Mimi rolled her eyes, while Jun sighed, "I really wish you'd never met that kid."

"Hey! He was awesome. Except for that part where he called me a girl," Davis mumbled.

"I remember that day too. That was the day my dad died," Cody trailed off, feeling both his mother and grandfather's hands on his shoulders. That statement helped jog the memories of the others and they quickly remembered their previous meeting. Yolei added, "I remember that day too. I almost got eaten by a Tyrannomon."

Her parents gasped, clearly not knowing that their daughter had been nearly eaten by a monster.

"Wait a second," Mimi stopped to examine Yolei more closely, "I remember you! You were that girl Lillymon saved."

Yolei nodded quietly, unnerved by how close Mimi was to her face, "Yeah. I met Palmon in the Digital World."

"Yeah, it seems we had a connection to every single one of the new digidestined who was chosen here in Japan - no matter how brief it was," Izzy stated, "You all know what happened next - The Digital World appeared in the sky, we went back to fight the Dark Masters, Apocalymon. All of it."

"I do, kinda," Yolei nodded, "So who's this Tamer guy anyway?"

"A total jerk that you guys are better off for never meeting," Mimi gave her answer quickly. Michael took this chance to whisper, "Why does Mimi seem wound up when she says Tamer? Like a Lion Tamer?"

"He's a guy we met in the Digital World when we first went there," Matt explained back, "H-"

"He's my brother Tai," Kari stated loudly, "The Digimon Tamer…is Tai."

Beside her, her mother seemed silent while her father looked on in total shock, "Tai's alive?"

"We meant to tell you," her mom stated sheepishly, "But it was hard to talk tabout."

Yolei rolled her eyes, "Yeah, you've only mentioned that how many times. What's the big deal though? _Who_ is he? Why do we need his help?"

Kari began talking about the events at Highton View Terrace several years ago - the egg that came through their computer, how it slowly became Agumon, Parrotmon's appearance later that night, and the battle that ended with her brother's disappearance. Matt's dad broke his silence to finally speak, "Didn't think I'd hear about that story again. I remember working that one back in the day, when we still lived in Highton View Terrace. Spooked the heck out of your mother and I because they ruled it a terrorist attack in the end, but no one ever claimed responsibility. But if I understand this right, your brother is the boy who was supposedly killed?"

Kari added, "We thought he'd died but he didn't. He'd been transported to the Digital World when he was younger than Cody. It was four years for us, but it was a hundred thousand years for him. By the time we met each other again, he had no idea who I was. He called me Carey."

Kari smiled weakly, happy about the fond memory which turned to a giggle. Her father ran a hand through his hair uncomfortably, looking anxiously at his daughter. TK could feel the anxiety from where he sat, the fearful look as his parents considered what life would be like if either boy ended up trapped in the Digital World at such a young age. Joe took this time to add, "We found out later on that we all became digidestined because we saw that battle when we were kids."

Wizardmon mused, "I imagine the stress of that on a child that young would have had negative consequences on his own mental faculties. Which would explain a lot about The Digimon Tamer."

"I gotta agree. All that time in the Digital World screwed him up," Matt agreed quietly but he mentioned, "But you can't deny that a lot of the digimon we met talked about him and Agumon like heroes."

"Well they're both pains. And we all know they're not as crazy or dumb as they act," Mimi countered, "They may play stupid but they're really just trying to get us to do whatever they want us to do, and they don't care who gets hurt along the way. That's what makes them suck so much."

"They'd have to be for how long they fought against the Dark Masters, Myotismon, Devimon, Etemon, and all the other evil digimon out there by themselves," Izzy offered his opinion, "I guess they wouldn't be the same after going through all that alone. To be honest, it's hard to imagine us not ending up the same way. Don't forget how close you got Mimi."

"Wait, wait," Yolei interrupted them while trying to process this information, "You mean those two had been fighting bad digimon by themselves for over a hundred thousand years? That's insane!"

"It probably helps that Tai is one of those Ancients," Kari offered as a meager explanation. Now Cody asked, "We've heard that word a few times now. I thought you were describing those old temples before but now I want to know - what is an Ancient?"

"That is a question that is incredibly difficult to answer," Wizardmon spoke carefully, "There are many legends and myths that surround them but the truth is jealously guarded by Agumon and The Digimon Tamer. The Ancients can be considered some of the first life in our world although whether this means they came before or were present during the birth of our world is a matter of debate. Some even postulate they came to our world from somewhere else but, as always, this is speculation. What is known is that all but one are gone, lost during the war against the Dark Masters, and all they left behind were their gifts - the temples, the digivices, the chosen children, and a floating warship apparently."

"And they chose you to carry on where they failed," Matt's dad chuckled to himself, mocking the very idea, "What kind of dumb joke is that?"

Patamon puffed his cheeks up, "We still won in the end."

"That leaves one other thing - The Digimon Emperor is a digidestined like us," Izzy stated to the surprise of the older digidestined who weren't already aware, "And we know his end goal is to end the fighting in The Digital World by uniting it but something's been bugging me about the whole thing. What happened to him to make him want to do this and why weren't we around to do anything about it? Worse, could whatever drove him over the edge like this also affect us in the same way? Are any of us at risk of becoming just like him - twisted and bent on ruling the Digital World with an iron fist?"

"That's unacceptable," Cody rebuked the thought, "I'm sorry but there's no reason to ever become like him. No matter how bad it gets."

"I don't disagree with you Cody," Izzy nodded, "The issue here isn't whether or not it's right. It's that something was capable of making the Digimon Emperor - a kid just like you or me - become what he is. And can whatever caused it happen to any of us? He talked about bringing back the dead and bringing peace. To be honest, if presented with the chance to bring back people we've lost - I'm not sure if any of us would be able to hold ourselves back from attempting to do that."

"I know you're talking about me Izzy," Mimi folded her arms and frowned at the boy, "I was upset about my mom, but I'm not going to destroy the world just to see her again."

"No, you just flew to the other side of the planet for a chance to see Palmon," Izzy pointed out, quieting the girl down. Izzy realized he'd struck a nerve and mentally berated himself for his carelessness. Now Cody's mom spoke, "Hold on, do we get a say in this? We're your parents!"

"That's something you'll have to talk about with your kids individually later," Joe's dad finally spoke up, "It is and should remain a personal discussion. Right now, I think our kids are just trying to fill us all in on what's going on. Before we judge them, it's only fair that we hear them out."

"I hate it but he's right," Matt's dad began playing with his lighter, flipping it open and close rhythmically while he tried to process all this, "So...if I understand this. The Digital World called a bunch of new kids together to help defend it from another kid. That kid was like you, then went nuts, started calling himself the Emperor and is trying to take over the Digital World. And you guys are skipping school and sneaking off after class to do...what? Fight him?"

"That's about it, yeah," Davis nodded. His father then asked, "And since I didn't know, it's safe to assume that none of you guys knew either?"

"A few of us, I'm sure," Joe's mom added, "Our son is always one to be open and honest with us. That's how we raised him. He told us from the get go."

Joe deliberately tried to ignore the annoyed looks from his fellow digidestined, mostly because they would be in more trouble for not saying anything right away. Sora looked to the side nervously, to avoid looking at her parents, "I didn't want you guys to worry."

"Of course they would worry! And what would you say to them if one of you didn't come back? Sorry, we've been going on daily trips to another world? That's the dumbest thing you kids have ever done," Yolei's mom stood up to continue berating them until a phone rang. Matt's dad retrieved the phone and retreated from the group to answer it, "Hello? This is Ishida."

"We're sorry for not telling you sooner," Cody frowned quietly. Michael took this chance to add, "I just think it's worth saying Mimi and I traveled around the world, with no fast way back to our parents."

"And I thought TK had delinquent problems," Matt chuckled, stopping when he heard his father shout, "Did you try shutting down the equipment? And it's still broadcasting? Okay, I'm on my way there."

"Dad, what's going on?" Matt asked the man now hurrying away, "I have no idea. But um…I don't know, maybe you kids should come. This Digital World stuff might help out with whatever is going on."

"Ooh, excitement," Wizardmon jumped up in anticipation for whatever lay ahead, "New mysteries abound in this world. I'd like to come along for the sake of discovery."

"Sure, why not? Just…don't keep talking like that," Matt's dad groaned, "Let's just all go tour my work place!"

The digidestined quickly collected their things to follow the man, despite protests from their parents. Unfortunately, they ended up following them down the street to the Fuji TV Station down the street. Although it had been flattened by Myotismon's invasion years prior, work began to clear out and rebuild it not long after it was destroyed. While the upper floors were still being rebuilt, the lower half was functioning and many employees resumed work shortly afterwards. Although it was a bright sunny day, dark clouds loomed over the new TV station ominously and occasionally crackled with lightning. Upamon frowned on seeing it, "Is that where your dad works TK? It's no wonder he's always so grumpy."

"It doesn't normally look like that," TK said as they drew closer, alarmed by the ever present storm cloud. Inside, employees frantically went about in a panic. Security stopped their group just as they walked in but Matt's dad was able to convince them to let them in as a tour group. One of the guards explained today would be a bad day for one because of all the problems they were having but his father insisted that they all be allowed in anyway. They looked at the digimon the kids held quizzically, until TK made a display of emphasizing that they were simply dolls. Against her partner's wishes, Kari scooped up Gatomon and instructed her to do the same

* * *

Their father took them into one of the broadcast rooms where several technicians were trying to fix issues with the live broadcasting. Several were busy pressing buttons on the different terminals and adjusting the different cables in an attempt to fix whatever issue they had. Others had opened their terminals and were busy messing wiring and circuits. One had actually unrolled the video tapes to examine the reels in the light carefully, "This reels clean. Just like all the others."

As soon as their father walked in, he asked, "So what's new?"

"The shadows stopped affecting shows still in editing and jumped over to the live broadcasts now. It's been jumping back and forth between different programs for about an hour. I think it's safe to say that this isn't bad footage but an issue with the actual equipment. We've been getting complaints all day," the technician explained, adjusting several knobs and buttons on the panel before him, "Whatever the problem is, it just doesn't want to be fixed."

"Have you tried unplugging everything? That might reset the problem," Matt's dad offered. The employee looked at him quizzically, "Are you serious?"

"Look, a few minutes off the air will look bad but it won't be as bad as leaving this on all day," their dad explained. The assistant replied, "I meant we already tried that. The things been unplugged for a while Mr. Ishida. They're all unplugged. The broadcasts are still going."

Everyone looked to the nearest power outlet to see a mass of wires and cables lying on the floor. As the technician said, everything was unplugged but the monitors in front of them were still running videos. Various shows ran on the different monitors: soap operas, dramas, talk shows, anime, the daily news and more. Wizardmon commented on the curious anomaly and noted something familiar about it under his breath - mild musings that none of the digidestined could comprehend.

Spurred by the movements of the shadow, their digivices sprung to life with whistling and light. The noise startled DemiVeemon, "Ah! What is that?"

His ruckus startled the technician and he leapt off his seat, "Did that doll just talk?"

"Whatever those things you kids have are, get them out of here! It's messing with the equipment!" another technician shouted.

"The shadows are doing something," Izzy pointed at the screen, watching them all zip by erratically before rising out of the monitors like smoke. The technicians backed away from the rising mass in a panic. One of them loudly declared, "You know what. I think it's time for my break. I'll let you handle this boss."

As they ran out the door, Matt's dad shouted after them, "Dude! Seriously? I have kids with me!"

That remark didn't stop any of the technicians from disappearing out the hall while screaming bloody murder. One of them even commented, "Then they better run too!"

As soon as the smoke arose, the monitors all died - leaving only the hanging mass of darkness. Their digimon leapt into action to attack, only to pass through the mist and crash into the monitors. Computer screens and parts fell to the floor while the digimon collected themselves. The mist moved out into the hallway and away from the attackers. Davis shouted, "It's getting away! Let's get after it DemiVeemon!"

"Is this safe? What if that thing kills us?" Yolei asked.

"That's exactly our concern!" her mom shouted. Mimi added, "Worse, what if it kills someone else?"

This statement alone made the other digidestined go after it with their digimon partners. Wizardmon scratched his head while they pursued it, troubled by the familiar feeling this encounter gave him, "I don't think it's dangerous. I think it's...familiar. We should pursue it but don't harm it."

They chased it through the TV station, down one hallway after another until it led them up into the construction area where the building was still being finished. It fled through unfinished walls, exposed pipes, door frames, and window frames. Eventually, their chase led them up to the roof of the facility where the black smoke spiraled overhead with the clouds. All around, voices echoed and called out indiscernible gibberish.

"Go back...tomon...the past...of light...mill...sten to…den radi…"

"What is it?" DemiVeemon asked aloud as they surrounded it.

"It's dangerous is what it is," Poromon stated as the winds roared overhead. Their digivices were alive and roared with rage against the stormy conditions. Wizardmon shouted, "It's not. It's...familiar..."

He stepped towards it despite Gatomon's cries, "Wizardmon? What are you doing? Are you crazy!?"

"He's a Wizardmon. Of course he is," Patamon commented.

"It doesn't mean us harm," Wizardmon said to them over the roar of the storm, "WHAT ARE YOU? WE CAN HELP! I AM WIZARDMON! THESE ARE THE DIGIDESTINED! THEY CAN HELP-"

Before he'd even finished his sentence, the smoke went straight towards him and the winds died. The clouds grayed, then turned white to settle into an intense fog. Wizardmon made no attempt to dodge the smoke as it pierced his body and went into him, suffocating his body as it cringed on the floor. Gatomon and Kari ran to the seizing wizard as he writhed, "Wizardmon!"

Memories of his first death came to Gatomon's mind, and she pelt a twisting pain in her heart. As quickly as he begun writhing, he stopped - lying still for a moment as if dead. The thought that Wizardmon could have died again would have been too much to bear for the car. Only he sat up, "Angewomon! No…that's not…what happened...this isn't...I should be..."

He contemplated his situation aloud, as if speaking to some unseen voice, "I don't understand what this is...unless...Oh, I see."

Kari and Gatomon stepped back so the wizard could stand up, giving neither of them any attention as he looked up in confusion, "That's not fair...how long do I...that's not long at all...will I keep these...I suppose everything has a price."

"Wizardmon, who are you talking to?" Gatomon asked the wizard, only to be answered by a sudden and unexpected hug. She gasped at first as the wizard held her tight before returning it. When the wizard let go, he began, "It's good to see you again old friend, but I wish it was under better circumstances."

Gatomon tried to speak but Wizardmon interrupted her, "The Digimon Tamer restored my memories. All of them, but the measure is temporary. A few minutes at the most. After that, the memories will fade just like this life. Wizardmon will remain, but I will no longer be the Wizardmon you knew."

Gatomon interrupted, "THAT'S NOT FAIR! IT'S BEEN TOO LONG! I CAN'T JUST LET YOU GO AGAIN!"

"Gatomon, please. I only have so much time," Wizardmon pleaded with the teary eyed cat, "He asked me to give you a warning - about the lost digidestined and the darkness that consumes him. He feels his intentions are noble, but he's just a puppet - a tool for an even greater evil. An evil that manipulates his own darkened heart. You know the one, Gatomon. We served him a long time ago."

"Myotismon," Gatomon gasped. It was hard to miss the growl that came from Mimi when that name was uttered. Davis whispered to Joe, "Myotismon is the one who attacked the first time, right?"

Joe nodded, "That's right. He's the kind of guy who doesn't do anything without a plan. It would explain whatever happened with the Digimon Emperor."

Wizardmon continued, "Yes. He is moving in the dark, making plans for his return. But this time, strength along won't be enough to defeat him. It will take kindness and the golden radiance to heal old wounds. Then, when six are assembled with a million points of light in the dark, the darkness will be vanquished."

"Why doesn't Tai just come out and tell us this then? Where is he!?" Kari asked, half angry and half worried. Wizardmon shook his head, "He can't, nor can Agumon. Their destiny lies elsewhere. There are forces at work they must hold at bay. Things in the dark and cold that can never see the light."

"You mean that…beach…that ocean place?" Gatomon mumbled out. Wizardmon nodded, "Yes. Death comes on the fourth breath, then one gives way to another."

"What does that mean? Wizardmon, is Tai going to die?" Kari gasped in disbelief. Wizardmon held his head in his hands, closing his eyes as if in intense headache. She waited patiently on his answer only to be met with a groan and a dazed look. The fog lifted to reveal clear skies and the city around them. Wizardmon shook his head and looked around nervously, "Hmm...oh, what happened?"

"Wizardmon! Is Tai going to die? What does that mean!?" Kari asked worriedly. Wizardmon cocked his head to the side, "What does what mean?"

"You don't...remember?" Gatomon asked. The wizard scratched his head, "Remember what?"

Gatomon turned around and walked away from Wizardmon, hanging her head quietly. Wizardmon asked, "Is something wrong Gatomon?"

"No," she choked out, before forcing a smile on her face, "Everything's fine."

Kari looked just as shaken by Wizardmon's message, but couldn't bring herself to look at him. Instead, she picked up her partner for a hug - and they went together to their parents while Wizardmon was left dumbfounded, "Was it something I said?"

Sora folded her arms, "No, not you. They just need some time."

A moment of silence followed before Mimi asked Yolei, "Hey, Yolei. Do you mind if I borrow you for a second?"

"Uh...sure, what's up?" Yolei was taken aback by being approached by someone like her. Mimi winked, "Well, since you new kids can open up the gates to the Digital World, I was hoping you wouldn't mind opening it up for me and Michael."

Michael interjected, "Whoa, wait Mimi. I don't want to go anywhere else. We should go back."

"Michael's right, Mimi," Izzy added, "Besides, what do you think you'd be able to do there anyway?"

"I think I plan on seeing Palmon again, then tracking down Tamer and Agumon so we can kick their butts. Then, we're dragging them back here to explain what the hell this was all about," Mimi gestured at Wizardmon, who could only point at himself in confusion, "I feel like I missed something. Can someone please bring me up to speed."

"Hold on. No one is going anywhere," Sora's dad said to every one of them, "Not until you kids finally talk to your parents about this. I don't know about the other parents, but I think I'm not okay with anything that's going on. If anything, it's weird that none of you kids are either! I thought this whole thing was wrapped up and behind us, and instead you're going on all these adventures that might get you killed!"

"Well that won't be a problem for us since our parents are on the other side of the world," Mimi interjected, raising her hand and Michael's together. TK noted that Izzy blushed when she did that. Matt's dad put his foot down, "And they're probably worried sick about you guys. I mean, imagine if your kid went missing for a day. You'd be worried sick! You both should be ashamed of yourselves."

"And what are you going to do about it?" Mimi asked with an uncharacteristically dastardly grin. She did not expect Matt's dad to place a hand on her ear and start dragging her away, "First, I'm getting security to hold you. Then I'm calling your parents. You too...um...Mikhael?"

"Michael," Michael corrected him as he went after them, "Mimi! What's happening?"

Just before he went back downstairs, Matt's dad said to the others, "You guys better talk to your parents too! I'm sure you all have a lot to talk about."

It was hard to miss the annoyed tone in his voice, but they knew it was coming from a good place. Whether the remaining parents would be so kind remained to be seen. The situation at the TV station appeared to have settled down as the broadcasts resumed normally without issue. As they all filed out, each child went their separate way with their parents to have a lengthy discussion about their trips to the Digital World. As they made their way outside, they noticed a black SUV with a leaf symbol driving away from the station.

 


	11. Family Matters

Mimi was utterly embarrassed at being told to sit in a chair next to Michael while a security guard stood outside the door into Matt's dad's office. He spoke on the phone with one of the operator' on how to call internationally to another number and said he would pay the charges if it meant the call went through. After a few minutes, he looked at Michael and asked, "What's Mimi's number?"

Mimi's expression soured and she shot Michael a nasty look that became worse when he caved almost immediately, reciting her number by heart. Matt's dad waited a few more minutes before someone picked up, "Hello, is this Mr. Tachikawa? Hi, you may not remember me. My name is Hiroaki Ishida. Our kids went to summer camp together and went to that...other world. Oh, you do remember. Yeah, I know, that's why I'm calling. Your daughter is safe - she and her friend decided to go on an international excursion to Japan. No, I didn't think she told you. Yes, you can talk to her."

He thrust the phone towards her. Mimi had never been so terrified of a piece of plastic, which she quietly accepted, "Hey dad."

"Mimi! Oh, I'm glad you're okay. I was worried when you weren't answering your cell and when no one could find you, I panicked. What were you thinking? You've done a lot of things I disapproved of young lady, but I always gave you your space. If I'd known you'd eventually just go to Japan, I would've said no from the start!" her dad said, his voice shifting between worry, relief, and anger.

"I'm sorry I'm such a disappointment," Mimi replied half heartedly, rolling her eyes at her father's anger. His tone shifted to concern, "Why, honey? Just...why?"

"I had something I had to do dad," she replied, "Palmon's in trouble and I had to go-"

"Wait, Palmon? The talking plant thing!? What's that...oh no. Hon, what's going on?" his voice became more panicked. She knew he'd become like this upon hearing about it. They left Japan shortly after her mother died to get away from those monsters in case they ever showed up again - it was his way of protecting her from harm. Never mind that it separated her from all her friends. Never mind that she'd never felt more alone than before - being in a part of the world where she was made fun of for her broken english and accent. She'd struggled to learn English and gain her peers' approval, but she'd made so many changes to herself in the process that she never really felt comfortable.

"My friend was in trouble. I went to go help," she replied matter of factly. Her father snapped, "And you didn't think to ask me?"

"You would've just said no!"

"Of course I would have! I'm your father! It's my job to worry about you! I can't lose you the way I lost your mother! I wanted to protect you!"

"Then why did you take me halfway around the world!?" Mimi snapped back. Her dad answered, "Because I needed to protect you!"

"You didn't leave after those planes crashed," Mimi snapped at him, bringing up another recent bad memory. She noted that Michael shifted uncomfortably and Matt's dad seemed just as uneasy. Her father stumbled, "Mimi, you know I wanted to leave. But I-"

"But what dad? What!?" she interrupted angrily. Her father met her anger with his own, "Don't take that tone with me young lady. Not after what you've done. When I tell Michael's parents what's going on, they'll. Wait, is he there?"

"Yes, and he has nothing to say to you," Mimi growled. Suddenly, the phone was snatched back by Matt's dad. He pressed a finger against his mouth to silence her, "Sorry Mr. Takenouchi. It sounds like you and your daughter have some things to work out and I don't think it's healthy to do it from across the planet. Not with the attitude you guys seem to have to each other. Why don't you fly out here as soon as you can and you two can talk about this. I'll reimburse your tickets for you."

He pulled the phone away from his ear at the sound of what sounded like her father shouting. He waited a moment for the noise to die down before asking, "Look, you're obviously upset and I understand that. Believe me, I do. But that attitude you're taking right now is pushing your daughter away. I'll call you in a few hours and hopefully you'll be able to talk with a cooler head. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go call Michael's parents."

He put down the phone and ran a hand through his hair, "Well, that could've gone better."

Mimi watched the older man offer her a timid smile, "I see why you ran away without saying a word. You two have some things you need to work out. But who am I to talk? I'm only living next door to my ex-wife because of our own issues. Okay, let's call your parents next, Michael."

The call to Michael's parents wasn't as dramatic as her own discussion with her father. They were still upset at his sudden and unannounced disappearance. It was harder for him to be forthcoming about his digimon partner or his role as a digidestined, mostly because that wasn't the kind of conversation he could have over the phone. She noticed they became exceptionally vocal when they heard her name; loud enough that Michael winced. After some more idle chat, he promised he would return home soon and hung up, "Love you guys too."

Matt's dad saw the somber looks on their faces after the phone call and stated, "You two will need a place to stay tonight. You're welcome to stay with me and Matt for the time being. Your dad is going to be very upset with you. And you Michael, are on the next plane back."

"Not before we go back to the Digital World," Mimi said adamantly. Matt's dad groaned from across the desk, "No. You're in enough trouble as it is. The last thing you need to do is go off into another world just to fight with more dangerous monsters."

"Mimi, he's right," Michael added sheepishly in English, "Besides, we're both tired from the trip. Let's crash for the night and take it easy."

"Yeah," Betamon said, until Michael covered his mouth, "Shush. The security guard is outside."

Mimi frowned at their opposition, tightening her fist in frustration but nodding in agreement when Michael whispered, "We could always go tomorrow. You know, where there's more time."

When they finally left the office, they found Izzy, Matt, TK, and their mom waiting patiently across the hall for them. Izzy waved upon seeing them, "Hey, just wanted to make sure you guys were okay."

"We're fine, Izzy. You didn't have to wait up. Where are the others?" Mimi asked the boy. He pocketed his hands, "They went home. My parents said we'd talk about all...this, when we got there."

"And mom wanted dad to talk to me about all this. Which sucks since Matt doesn't have to," TK rolled his eyes until Matt elbowed him, "Ow."

"Oh, we're talking to him later," his mom leered at the older boy who became more nervous under his mom's glare. He put up his hands defensively, "I promise. I'll be home right after our gig tonight."

"A gig? Ooh, can we come!?" Mimi asked excitedly. Their father shut down her excitement almost immediately, "You're not going anywhere little lady. You and Michael are staying with me until I say otherwise."

"Right, and we're going to be talking about this Digital World business," his mom stated, "On top of that look you were giving that Sora girl too."

"Sora?" TK repeated stupidly, looking at his older brother in stunned silence, "Since when have you-"

"She likes my music, okay?" Matt answered with a flushed face, looking away shyly, "She has since the Digital World."

"Yeah, we're going to be talking a LOT about this," their mom stated with a serious grin. Their dad put a hand to his face in disbelief before looking at Izzy, "One problem after another. Izzy, you should head home."

Izzy nodded, "Actually, I wanted to see if Mimi and Michael had a place to stay before I left."

"They'll be staying with me for now," Matt's dad told him, "That way, I can keep an eye on them and make sure they don't wander off again. Their parents are worried enough, the last thing we want to do is give them another thing to worry about."

"Dad, is that a good idea? I mean, the apartment's kind of a mess," Matt brought up this point, mostly because he was trying to help Izzy out. His dad shook his head, "I honestly don't care about that Matt. They can sleep on the couch tonight. Couches! You two are not sharing a sleeping space. Besides, it's their fault for sneaking on a plane."

"Okay," Matt checked his wrist watch, then nodded at the rest of them, "Good luck guys. Try not to step in anything. I gotta go."

He ran off, still hiding his face to avoid showing them how flush it was.

* * *

Davis threw himself on the couch as soon as he got home, his parents following just behind him. His older sister couldn't stop cuddling DemiVeemon the whole way back and just kept hugging him closer, "I can't believe he's actually real. And he talks! In the cutest voice!"

"Tee hee! Stop! That tickles!" DemiVeemon giggled uncontrollably, helpless under his older sister's hand. Davis grumbled, "Oh man. Stop babying him Jun! He's not a baby!"

"Well, I am only a few days old," DemiVeemon commented in her defense. Jun gasped even more joyfully, "Oh my gosh! You mean you were just born! AH! You're just so cute! And you Davis! How can you make something so cute fight such big monsters?"

"We'd like to talk about that, son," his parents sat down in the living room with him. Davis looked up nervously, "You do? Oh come on. What's there to talk about? We've been doing this for two weeks and nothing bad's happened!"

His mom countered calmly, "Wrong, you came home with a bloody face one day. You told us it was soccer but do you honestly think we believed that? I mean, obviously it was that...Emperor kid."

"Don't worry, I'll pay him back," Davis said with a tight fist, unaware that he only worried his parents further. His mom gasped, "Davis! We did not raise you to be blood thirsty!"

"Listen to your mother son. We're not okay with this. Right Jun?" his father looked at his older sister expectantly while she continued to coddle the little DemiVeemon. She looked up to add, "Yeah, I don't want to see DemiVeemon hurt!"

"Hey! What about me?" Davis pouted at his older sister who offered him an unapologetic smile, "What about you?"

"I'm your brother? You don't care if I get hurt?" Davis called out his older sister who shrugged, "You get hurt all the time. What difference does it make if it happens in soccer or in the DigiWorld? As long as you come back alive, and you will because you're too stubborn to die, who cares?"

Davis didn't expect that answer from his sister of all people. As much as the two of them bickered, he didn't think his sister would ever have anything remotely nice to say about him. Granted, her choice of words were rough, it was still the nicest thing she probably ever said to him. Their mom scowled, "Jun? How can you say that?"

"Because when these things showed up the first time, Davis wanted to run in and help. Even if it meant going up against the giant monsters. By himself. And he was a squirt back then. And he still wants to run in and help," Jun pointed out, "I say let him. He's older and he's got this cute little guy with him. But I swear, if anything happens to him Davis, it'll be me you have to worry about."

"Are you sick?" Davis asked his older sister. She raised an eyebrow disbelievingly, "Obviously not. Why do you ask?"

"Because I think that is probably the nicest thing you've ever said to me," Davis replied. His sister responded by picking a pillow off the couch and throwing it at his face. He fell onto the floor and complained, "Hey!"

"You deserve it smart mouth," she responded, coddling DemiVeemon, "Ooh, I can't wait to see how you look in the dress of my old doll."

"What's a dress?" DemiVeemon asked innocently, earning a dire look from Davis who ran off the couch to snatch his partner away before his sister did anything else to his little partner. Jun complained, "Hey! Give him back Davis!"

"No way! I'm not letting you put him in a dress!" Davis ran away to his room, closing the door in vain against his older sister who kept it pried open with his own soccer ball, "No you don't! You get him all day! It's my turn!"

"He's a boy, Jun!" Davis stated to which she answered, "So? He likes it! Don't you DemiVeemon?"

"I like the clothes. They're warm," DemiVeemon giggled, much to Davis annoyance, "Oh no you don't!"

"Fine! I'll stop," Jun let the door go and backed away. Davis peered out disbelievingly, eyeing his sister with deep suspicion before asking, "What's the catch?"

"That boy from earlier was Matt Ishida, right? The one from that local band 'The Teenage Wolves'?" Jun asked, which made Davis even more anxious. She sensed his unease and added, "I'd like his number if you got it."

* * *

Yolei's older siblings were relieved to see her family walk back inside, only to be disappointed when they were asked to watch the store a little longer. They groaned in annoyance, wanting to spend their weekend goofing off with friends instead of minding the family business. Her parents marched her into the back office, making sure to lock the door behind them so they could finally talk about everything in private. Her dad began, "Okay. So, just to make sure I have all this straight - that pink bird doll thing talks."

"Yep, I do," Poromon chirped.

"It's one those things that tried to destroy the city a few years back," her dad continued, despite Poromon correcting, "I wasn't even born yet, so don't put me with those guys."

"And you've been chosen to help save the world they come from because…some kid from our world is trying to conquer it," her father finished, massaging his temple as Poromon added, "He calls himself the Digimon Emperor."

"Which makes no sense because it takes an army of them to threaten our world, but only one of him to destroy theirs?" her father asked more than, which Poromon met with a sigh, "It makes sense in context. I guess you just had to be there."

"And we're okay with this...because?" her mother added expectantly, looking at Poromon specifically to answer the question. Poromon opened and closed his mouth a few times but was unable to find the right choice of words to answer. So Yolei answered for him by explaining herself, "I wasn't too excited about this at first, either. It just kind of...happened."

"But you've gone to the Digital World more than once since then," her mother stated more than asked. Yolei nodded anxiously under her mother's intensifying stare, "That's right."

"Why?" her dad asked now. Yolei frowned, "I don't know. I didn't like it at first, but it felt wrong to not go."

"She's worried that if she doesn't go to help, then her friends will get hurt and it'll be her fault for not going with them," Poromon added in her defense, only making Yolei more flustered. It didn't help that Poromon continued non chalantly, "Plus, she wants to prove that she can be a helpful member of the team. Which is kinda of pointless since she's already proven that she's useful to the rest of the team."

"Poromon-"

"Sorry Yolei, but I thought we might be here all day if I didn't say anything," Poromon stated matter of factly. Yolei closed her eyes and took a deep breath, annoyed that her partner had essentially taken the initiative again on something she should have one. So the only way to get ahead of that would be to continue talking, "He's right. I haven't felt like I've been carrying my weight at all since the last time we met the Emperor. One of our digimon always got hurt and I always froze up and didn't do anything. But I'm trying to be better. And I can't do that if I don't go."

"Maybe you can help in another way?" her mom suggested, her eyes traveling out the door as she said those words. Yolei followed her eyes and raised a brow in confusion - unsure what her mother was trying to communicate by staring at the door, "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that you don't have to be out there fighting to help. You can help them out by cheering them on and bringing them snacks from our store," her mom said. Now her dad was nervous, "Hon, we probably shouldn't encourage her to go to another world and get herself killed."

"She won't be killed because she won't be going," her mom stated, "She'll be staying right here and giving her friends snacks whenever they want some."

That fact put her father at ease, but gave Yolei a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. It seemed like even her parents didn't think she would be able to handle herself in the Digital World. She looked at her partner sitting nervously in her hands and stated, "I've gone before. It took me a while to get used to it but I don't have a problem with that anymore. I want to help any way I can, and I'm not just going to sit around while the others get hurt."

Poromon added, "And I'll be going with to protect her."

"But wouldn't you prefer to be somewhere safe?" her mom reasoned. Yolei's grip tightened on her partner, "So you want me to sit back while the others get hurt?"

"That's not what we're saying at all," her mom countered.

"No, that's not what you're saying," her dad countered, "I'm saying she shouldn't have anything to do with this…period. End of discussion."

Yolei looked at her father, wide eyed at the level of concern in his voice, "This isn't our problem. This had never been our problem until our daughter nearly got eaten. And now we have to let her go save them? I'm not letting our daughter get killed!"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence dad," she frowned at him, rolling her eyes in disbelief as her own father seemed to indicate that he didn't think she was strong enough, either physically or mentally to handle the stresses of her role as a digidestined. Her father made no attempt to hide his own fears and instead tried rationalizing with her, "Dear, that's not what I meant and you know it. I'm worried about your safety. And after what those monsters, the…digimon?"

Poromon nodded, "Digital monsters, but digimon works."

"After the digimon showed up to destroy our city and kill us all, you expect me to just be okay with them taking my daughter to save their world? Why you?" her father pointed at her anxiously, "Why not the military or a sumo wrestler or, and this is a crazy idea, an adult?"

She noted the sarcasm in his voice, which Poromon missed entirely, "For what it's worth - the digidestined were always prophesied to be kids. That's why some prophecies say chosen children instead of Digidestined."

"And those other kids - Izzy and the rest of them. They got chosen before so why can't they fix this? Why you?" her dad added anxiously. Yolei answered, "Because the Digimon Emperor has some kind of weird power. He creates these things called control spires that take away their partners' ability to digivolve. They're literally left defenseless in the Digital World. But Davis, Cody and I aren't. That's why I have to go, so I can help."

Her mom nodded quietly and then moved to stand beside her kneeling down so they could look each other in the eye, "Okay. What do I have to say to make you change your mind? That you don't have to mind the shop any more?"

"That'd be nice, but no," she said, looking her mom in the eye and seeing only amusement looking bkac. Her dad joined her mother in offering bribes, "How about…no chores and all the desert you'd like to have?"

Yolei actually gave that offer some serious thought but shook her head when she realized Poromon was staring at her in stunned surprise, "Mom, dad, I get it. You're worried. But I can do this. I have to do this. You believe in me, don't you?"

"I'm not saying we don't dear. But we're worried," her dad added, "Your our daughter. Why wouldn't we worry about you?"

Yolei hung her quietly, unable to look either of them in the eye as she realized this discussion would go in circles for some time. She prepared herself for the long haul and wondered how any of the others were handling their discussions with their parents.

* * *

Kari and her parents walked back to their apartment quietly, or mostly quietly. Her dad was left sputtering in confusion from the revelation and was having the hardest time digesting it, "So….he's alive? Tai's alive. He's been alive the whole time."

"Sort of, dear. He doesn't know who we are. He's…forgotten," her mom explained. His dad scratched his head, "Why did he never say anything? Why hasn't he come back? Where is he? Why didn't you say anything? Why-"

"Because you wouldn't have believed us," her mother replied.

"I just hope he's okay," Kari said quietly. Gatomon frowned, "So is your dad going to keep sputtering the same thing we've been talking about? It's like a broke record."

"And the cat talks," her dad commented, "This is…and you knew Yuuko?"

"It was…really difficult to talk about and explain," she began, "I mean…how was I supposed to say our son came back for a day to fight monsters and then just disappeared? I would've sounded crazy. And the last thing I wanted was to scare you away after…you came back."

"I just need some time to process this," her dad said, taking several long and slow breaths as he mulled over the news, "Tai's alive and…somewhere. Kari has to fight monsters with…a cat. And all this is because…okay, no that doesn't make sense. Why a cat?"

"She's only a cat for some of the time, and her name is Gatomon," Kari said, her tone harsher than she intended which made her dad wary of the cat. He looked at Gatomon who was examining him like he was some sort of prey for her to pounce upon, "I'm just trying to process all of this…the cat talks and isn't…always a cat."

"I have a name you know. I'm not a thing," Gatomon sighed, playfully leaping out at a pigeon that caught her attention, "Your dad's slow, isn't he?"

"Of course it talks back. It can talk, why wouldn't it talk back?" her dad shrugged his shoulders in exasperation. Gatomon groaned when the pigeon flew away, then climbed on her dad's shoulders to snap some sense into him. She didn't quite knock him down, but she did take him be surprise when she extended her claws as if to scratch him. The look on his face was priceless when she only slapped hi, "Calm down already! Geez, I really don't know which is worse - your mom screaming the first time we met or your dad standing there mumbling like a moron. What's so hard to accept about the fact that I talk or that I can change my form? Kari accepted it way faster than you guys did and she was…"

Gatomon paused when she realized that fact and looked at Kari, "Hey Kari, how old were you when we met?"

"Eight," she answered.

"Is that young? I really don't get how human age works," Gatomon asked with her head turned curiously.

"Are you kidding? She was still a baby!" her mother said exasperatedly. Kari felt insulted, "I wasn't a baby, mom. I could take care of myself."

"You were my baby!" her mom insisted.

"Ours," her dad corrected, "We lost Tai. I…we don't want to lose you, too."

Gatomon rolled her eyes and leapt off her father, "Well, at least he's not sputtering anymore. That's an upgrade I guess. Still, it says a lot about you guys that your daughter handled any of this better than you did when she was a baby."

"I wasn't a baby Gatomon. I was a kid!" Kari corrected her partner, now concerned that the cat might think she was indeed just a baby. Gatomon shrugged, "Same difference. I'm old enough to not care anyway. So, are you guys okay with your daughter going off to the Digital World? Just so you know, she's probably going to go whether you're okay or not. I mean, the way she goes on about The Tamer makes me wonder what's going on there. It's weird! Where was I going with this? Oh yeah, it'd make more sense for you guys if you just accept the fact that she's going to go. Besides, wouldn't it be nice to see your son again? If he is your son."

The two parents looked at their only surviving child longingly, neither willing to throw into harm's way but both concerned for her well being. Still, Gatomon had made perhaps the most persuasive argument she could - this could be the only way they'd ever find their son.

* * *

Cody sat anxiously at the table across from his grandfather, an elderly gentleman who'd moved in with them after his father died. Neither his mom or his grandfather had said a word since they'd left the meeting or gotten home - his mother went to make dinner and his grandfather was content with drinking his tea. When dinner was ready, they gathered and ate in total silence. Upamon was unnerved by their disinterested behavior, "So...are we not talking about any this?"

His mom stopped eating and loudly placed her chopsticks down on the table. Cody frowned and hung his head quietly while his mom stated, "There's nothing to talk about."

"Of course not. Cody will go to the Digital World one way or another. There's no point in trying to stop him," his grandfather replied quietly. His mom's mood soured, "That's not what I meant! He's not getting involved in this. Any of it. This has nothing to do with him. With us!"

"Maybe not us. But definitely him," his grandfather replied, nodding at his grandson, "Cody, what do you think?"

Cody gave his response careful consideration and chose his words carefully, "I think...I think that I should have told you guys sooner and I'm sorry for not doing that. It's just...hard to talk about since the last time digimon appeared, dad...died."

His mom pressed upon that memory, shaken by the recollection "And that's exactly the reason you're not going, Cody! You're dad died to protect us! You can't just throw your life away to protect those...monsters that killed him! Him and all his police friends!"

She pointed an accusatory finger at Upamon, who laughed playfully, "You're blaming me for something I wasn't alive to do yet. Cody, your mom is really silly."

"You're one of those thing aren't you?" his mom added, to which Upamon's reply became more serious, "Yeah, but should I blame Cody for something you did before he was born? That's not fair to him, is it?"

"Well said, both of you," his grandfather nodded quietly, sipping away at his tea carefully. His mom disagreed entirely, "Dad, he's going to die!"

"Everyone's going to die," his grandfather replied calmly, "I'm not saying you shouldn't be worried about him. But if your greatest concern about him doing something is that he'll be hurt, then you probably shouldn't have agreed to marry my son. He was a police officer and police die in the line of duty all the time. I wasn't any happier about it than you were - no father wants to bury their son. However, this is something your son clearly wishes to do and it would be worse to deny him that opportunity to do some good."

"Cody, you don't actually want to do this, do you?" she looked at him worriedly, a look that made him feel guilty. His grandfather continued to sip his tea but added, "There's no need to be afraid Cody. You can speak your mind to your mother and me."

"You won't be upset?" he looked up nervously, worried that the very thing he wanted to say would hurt his mom. His grandfather nodded but it took her a little bit longer to answer with a soft, "I won't."

"I want to go," Cody said carefully, "I...I think it would be an insult to everything dad ever stood for if I knew that people were in trouble and I did nothing about it. When people were in danger, he immediately went to help - that's who he was mom. I know you're scared but...I want to do this."

"Well, there you have it," his grandfather said calmly before returning to sipping his tea. His mother slammed her hand on the table and raised her voice, "Dammit Cody! Do you want to die? Do you want me to lose you the way we lost our father?"

"That's exactly why I want to go mom," he said back, not realizing how loud he was getting or that his own eyes were glazed over, "No one...should have to see someone they care about die. Never again. Not while I can do something about it."

When he finished, he realized that his mom wore a heart broken expression and rose to hug her - only to be met halfway across the table when she came to hug him, "Cody...I'm sorry."

"Oh, there's nothing to be sorry about. Your his mother," Cody's grandfather said to them, "This conversation would only be wrong or weird if it didn't happen. Now, who wants desert? I think we still have more of that yogurt somewhere."

* * *

TK, Mimi, Michael, his dad and his mom walked back to the apartment with Patamon still sitting on his head quietly. Their exchanges since the revelation were brief and to the point, which made it difficult to talk to her - exacerbated by the fact that she kept shooting him disapproving glances, as if he'd just revealed a big secret to her that she wished she didn't know. Right now, he wished he was Matt who had been able to weasel his way out because of his previous commitments, and the fact that he didn't live with them.

After a long and uncomfortable silence, Michael asked, "Where go us?"

Mimi answered in english and Michael nodded understandingly before asking a question back in english. Eventually, Mimi had to translate for him, "Michael would like to know if you guys are mad."

"I'm not," his dad answered, while his mom was more agitated, "I am. You kids...geez, I didn't do any of this stuff when I was your age. I can't believe you didn't tell us about any of this."

"Honestly, it would've been hard to talk about since you weren't okay with us going the first time," TK offered. Nancy massaged the bridge of her nose, "TK, you're going to make me gray before I hit forty."

"Wow, that's really young. Are you sure she's your mom?" Patamon asked, until TK poked him, "You're a doll, remember?"

"Are you making fun of me?" his mom asked the little doll, which prompted Mimi, "No. Digimon age funny. Leomon was five hundred and still considered pretty young."

His mother sighed her frustration, massaging her temple. He hated seeing his mom this way and offered the only condolence he could, "I'm sorry mom. For what it's worth, I didn't know this would happen either. I mean, I hoped I'd see Patamon again, but I didn't expect it to be like this. Us going back to the Digital World to fight one more time."

She went from massaging her temple to the bridge of her nose, "I just need to ask…is it just another kid like you guys? Is that all your up against?"

"Yes, for now," TK answered quietly. His mom looked at him incredulously and he added, "Look, the fact that we got called back at all means it can happen again. Who's to say we won't get called again for something else?"

"Thanks for giving me more to worry about," she grunted her disapproval but didn't say anything for the rest of their walk back to the apartment.

They just reached the front door to their apartment when she stopped at the threshold, blocking the others from entry. She paused for a moment before looking back at him, "You know TK, the one thing I don't think you understand is why I'm so upset by all this. It's because my little boy…grew up before I even knew it. You went to summer camp but came back…different. You weren't as dependent on Matt as you used to be. You weren't as dependent on me. But worse, was knowing that you were okay with running off into danger without a second thought, and there was nothing I could do help or stop you."

TK paused, unsure of what to say to his mother and her heart broken confession. Mimi had suddenly found interest in her shoes while Michael cluelessly asked her something in english, possible pertaining to a translation. The look on his mom's eyes wasn't accusatory but hurt him all the same - the look of someone who was looking at a stranger before them. She sighed and quietly pushed the door open without another word.

"Mom," TK began, pausing when she left the door ajar - standing half inside and half out. She looked back at him as he stumbled over his words, "I'm...sorry for all of this. I didn't plan for any of this to happen. It just kind of did. But I don't regret it. Any of it. I wouldn't have met Patamon, I probably wouldn't have met the others and become as close with them as I have…I wouldn't be who I was. There are somethings that probably shouldn't have happened - Mimi's mom dying, Kari's brother getting lost, all the people who were killed. But not doing anything would've made all of that worse."

He could feel Mimi shooting him an icy glare for bringing back an old memory, which he tried his hardest to ignore. His mom nodded, "I know TK. I just wish my little boy had been my little boy a little bit longer."

TK hung his head quietly. Patamon looked between the two of them and was about to speak only to fall silent when someone walked out of the apartment building - an older man with skin as pale as death and long unkempt black hair. Were it not for his black trench which must've been uncomfortable in the warm weather, he could easily be mistaken for a corpse. The man stopped upon seeing his mother, "Excuse me. Oh, Nancy! Perfect, I was looking for you."

His mom was taken by surprise, and inched back while his dad stepped forward to make his presence known. Not to be rude, his mother asked, "Um…Do I know you?"

"Oh, sorry. I probably look different with the hair. I'm Yukio Oikawa. We worked the Highton View Terrace story together?" he said, trying to jar her memory. She put a finger to her lips curiously and finally was able to recall, "Oh, I remember now. I haven't seen you since you quit years ago. Why are you here all of sudden?"

"A new story came up and I thought you'd be interested in getting a head start on it before anyone else," he said with a crooked smile that flashed some obscenely sharp teeth. TK felt an unnerving presence from this man he'd never met before and impulsively reached for Patamon, holding him with both arms in a hug despite him trying to remain still to hide as a doll. Even Mimi and Michael seemed nervous, keeping their distance while trying not to run.

"First, why me? Second, what could bring you back after all these years?" she asked suspiciously, making room for the man to make his way past the group. He glanced at TK and smiled, "Oh, you must Takeru. I remember when you were just this high and your mom had to bring you to work. You've gotten taller. But aren't you a little older to be playing with dolls?"

TK looked past him at his mom nervously, mouthing for help which made his dad step up, "Hey, Yukio. Answer Nance's questions!"

"Hm? Oh, sorry about that. I didn't know you two were back together Hiroaki," Yukio stated, running a hand through his hair in an attempt to straighten it out, "To answer your question Nancy, it's because we have history and I'm sure your career could use a boost like this. So, what if I told you that a certain boy genius suddenly disappeared yesterday morning without a word?"

"Okay, you have my attention," she said, "We can talk more about it upstairs."

"Oh, I'm just here to give you a lead. I have my own work to get back to," Oikawa nodded, "Ken Ichijouji - last seen yesterday going to school. Didn't come home and his parents are now talking to the police. You'll have a head line before anyone else if you start digging."

As he walked away, TK raised an eyebrow - quietly recalling last week's game between Davis' team and Ken's. He wondered how someone as high profile as that kid could disappear without a word and no one knowing.


	12. The Runaway

The Digimon Emperor looked out upon his creation in the biogenesis machine - a project he'd needed in preparation of his advance on the Lazarus Temple. It's defenses were as complex as they were efficient, and would either trap him or kill him outright. He concluded a brute force method would be the fastest, most efficient way inside and this began work on his creation. It was _almost_ perfect but something was missing that he couldn't quite place. He went back over the design again - a hardened skeletal helm around the head, a maw of tough jaws and stronger teeth, the hind legs of one of the fastest digimon ever, two sets of wings from flying digimon, a body from one of the forms of the Agumon line. Something was amiss about it - it wasn't quite right yet. As he dwelled on it, his thoughts began to take him down a dangerous path that made him shiver, " _It needs darkness, the one thing that always stood in opposition of the Ancients. If it can be found, the creation could stand to rival the Dark Masters in power and could defy them._ "

He shook his head to keep himself awake, certain these thoughts were just the result of being awake too long. However, the idea was intriguing enough to be worth investigating. He went back to the command console and began typing on the keyboard. It took an annoying amount of trial and error to get even the most basic functions to operate on the old terminal, but he was able to open a map of the Digital World and begin narrowing down a location - some place with weak dimensional boundary to another world. A dark world he'd been to once before. The computer narrowed down a singular location in the middle of the ocean - a massive darkened whirlpool that swirled violently until it became pitch black in the center. He smiled once he had the location in place and set the coordinates for the ship to begin moving of its own accord.

Wormmon, his partner, frowned upon entering the room and seeing what he was doing, "My Emperor, is this a good idea? We still have operations going on in this part of the Digital World."

"A mining operation occupied by prisoners. I'm not worried about it. The entire thing runs on auto-pilot. Besides, our contact in ShogunGekomon's court will let us know if they make any serious moves against us," the Emperor smiled, "Now let's see about finishing this project."

"Oh, hey you got that to work. Congratulations. I mean, it took a bit longer than most, but good job."

Another annoyance had entered the room and he turned to shout them out only to be taken off guard by what he saw. The Digimon Tamer holding some comically large device that vaguely resembled a cannon tucked under his arm. But that wasn't what caught his attention - he seemed sickly, as if he was on the verge of falling over. The Emperor raised an eyebrow, "What's wrong with you?"

"I'm an old man, your Emperorness," Tamer bowed, "I ain't as young as I used to be y'know."

The Emperor rolled his eyes, not sure what he was expecting. Instead, he tried something else, "What is that and where did you get it?"

"Hm? Oh it's a thing," the Tamer replied, adjusting it to hang over his shoulder, "Took it from one of the armories."

"This ship has an armory?" the Emperor said in stunned disbelief. The Tamer nodded, "Oh, yeah. And a cafeteria, showers, laundry room, water purification, food storage, you name it."

"What's it for?" the Emperor asked, uncharacteristically letting his curiosity get the better of him. Tamer gave him a thumbs up, "Oh, there's an evil god dragon octopus thing at the bottom of the ocean that's trying to destroy reality. So WarGreymon and I are going to give it a good whack and put it in the corner!"

"Fine, don't tell me," the Emperor rolled his eyes - tired of the Tamer's nonsensical answers. The Tamer shrugged the comment off and continued, "So, WarGreymon and I are going to be out for a while. Not sure when we'll be back. Try not to wreck the place while we're gone."

"What makes you think I'm going to let you leave this ship?" the Emperor demanded angrily. Tamer smiles cheekily, "Please. You couldn't keep us locked in a closet. How are you going to keep us from leaving? Anyway, drink your vegetables, do your milk, eat your homework and do anything stupid while we're out. Wait, I think I said that wrong. Oh well, bye Wormmon!"

"Er...bye," Wormmon nodded anxiously as the Tamer walked back out of the control room. The Emperor snorted and went back to his work, assuring himself he didn't care about anything the Tamer was doing. Unfortunately, he could't deny his curiosity and was left speculating about whatever they were doing.

* * *

Hiroaki Ishida awoke early the following morning to take Michael to an airport and put him on a plane back to America. He hated getting up early but figured Michael's parents would want him as soon as possible. Groggy and half awake, he rolled out of bed and went out to the living area where Mimi and Michael should've been sleeping.

He could vaguely make out their lumpy shapes on the couch under the sheets and went to wake them, "Hey Michael. Get up. We have to go to the airport."

When Michael didn't stir, he tried again - ripping away the sheets in the hopes that the sudden cold would wake him up only to find a bag and some pillows underneath. Hiroaki's shoulders slumped, "Oh you've got to be kidding me."

Inspecting the other sleeping form revealed another set of pillows beneath the blanket and a small note wedged between the pillows - a simple pink letter with a floral trim on the edges.

_To Mr. Ishida_

_Thanks for letting spend the night, but we have to help our friends. We'll be back soon after everything is cleaned up._

_Mimi_

Hiroaki crumpled the paper in his hands and growled, annoyed that he'd managed to sleep through two kids sneaking out of the apartment. Annoyed, he made his way to his son's bedroom and slammed his fist on the door, "Matt! Are you in there! Wake up!"

He rapped his knuckled harder until his son poked his head out half away, "Son, where's Mimi and Michael?"

"On the couch, where they were when I got home," he answered, rubbing his tired eyes and yawning, "What's the big deal?"

"They're gone Matt. Where did they go?" he asked more agitatedly, knowing it was a futile effort since his son thought they were still on the couch. He yawned again and went out into the living room to gesture at the pile of pillows, too tired to tell what they really were. Hiroaki felt a strong headache hit him and decided to lie down before he could deal with this again.

* * *

Mimi and Michael landed expertly on their feet despite being on their first trip through the gate of the Digital World, a fact that surprised everyone. Wizardmon especially was curious how a human could manage it on his first try and began taking notes as he eyed Michael curiously. Michael gaped up in surprise at their surroundings, the beach just some distance away from ShogunGekomon's palace, "Huh. Digital World no look different from Real World."

"Give it a day. You'll see how different it can be," Izzy assured the boy gesturing around at the wild new world, "None of us were here yesterday, so we'd better go make sure everything is okay with ShogunGekomon."

Instead of staying behind to monitor the gate, he opted to come with them this time. It seemed obvious why to everyone present except for Mimi who was either ignorant of the reason or simply didn't care. Michael marveled loudly on the entire walk to the walled village, surprised at how similar everything seemed to the Real World. Betamon, his partner, was equally excited as he was a digimon with no prior experience in the Digital World before now.

The exterior wall was now dotted with tents and shacks made of what looked like old wood, clothe and whatever could be salvaged. All their excitement quickly turned to silence as they witnessed the dour mood of this camp, crowded with digimon who looked hungry, tired and confused. TK was the most lost since he'd missed a week, "Where'd all these digimon come from?"

"They're the digimon we rescued from the Emperor," Hawkmon answered quietly.

The mood which itself became confusion the moment they reached the gate into the town and a Gekomon greeted them with its spear. Michael and Betamon threw up their hands carefully, "Wait! We're good! Friends! Friends!"

"Are they with you?" the lead Gekomon asked Davis. The goggle headed boy more than willingly came to their defense, "Yeah! They're digidestined like us! You don't have to point spears every time you see us, you know."

"Why does he talk funny?" Gekomon asked, pointing a finger at Michael who panicked, "No hurt! No hurt! Friend!"

"He doesn't speak Japanese natively," Cody stated, somehow realizing the absurdity of his statement and asking, "Wait a sec, I never thought about it before but how come you guys speak Japanese?"

"That's a surprisingly good question," Izzy nodded his agreement.

"What are you talking about?" the Gekomon frowned at them anxiously, still training his spear on Michael and Betamon. Sick of the stalling, Mimi pushed her way to the front of the group and pushed the spear aside with a finger, "This is the welcome I get after I helped wake up ShogunGekomon? I'm hurt. I thought you guys liked me."

"Do I know you?" the Gekomon raised his spear angrily, jutting straight for her neck. Izzy reacted quickly by grabbing the edge of the spear before it struck her and pushed it back to the ground, "Hey! Don't you even think about it!"

"Did Izzy just grab a spear? By the pointy side?" Patamon asked his partner curiously, "Is this like Davis and Kari, where it's totally obvious but no one's talking about it or like-"

"Whoa! Whoa! What are you doing!?" an Agumon shouted at the group as he rushed towards them, "That's the digidestined! Why are you treating them like that?"

"They brought two new humans and another digimon with them. I don't know who any of them are," the Gekomon said harshly, "So I'm not letting them in."

"Talk about mean," Mimi pouted just as the Agumon sighted her, "Hmm...I don't recognize you either. Who are you?"

"I'm Mimi!" she introduced herself, "And these are Michael and Betamon."

"Hi," the two said together. The Agumon cocked his head to the side in curious fascination, walking around Mimi carefully, "Mimi, huh? Did you digivolve? Your hair is pink and has glitter in it."

"No, I just thought a new look would do me some good. What do you guys think? Mimi brushed her hand through her hair to show it off to the delight of the Agumon, "Yeah, it's very pretty. I like it! Come with me. I'll escort you guys back to ShogunGekomon's palace. He'll want to see you right away."

"That's _Lord_ ShogunGekomon," the Gekomon said harshly, leering at the Agumon who bowed apologetically but snarked, "Oh, right my mistake. It's hard to remember that since all he does is sit in his palace. Lord ShogunGekomon."

The Gekomon stepped aside to let them pass but kept them under its harsh eye as they walked in. Mimi leaned in on TK, "Are the Agumon and ShogunGekomon's digimon still fighting? I thought they'd have gotten over it by now."

"I'm kinda lost, too," TK replied, "Hey, Davis, what did we miss exactly?"

Davis adjusted his goggles, "Dude, that ShogunGekomon doesn't want to get off his butt and do anything, so we've been doing all the work ever since the Digimon Emperor attacked."

TK looked to any of the others to elaborate on what Davis considered a good enough explanation and Hawkmon was happy to oblige, "Despite the Emperor's recent attempt to take over the village, ShogunGekomon feels that it is still better to not get involved. So we've been going out and trying to liberate areas around the village from his control - freeing digimon and encouraging them to flee here for safety. However, ShogunGekomon isn't as keen to let them stay inside of the village out of fear that they may be under the influence of the dark rings. This has led to further derision as the Gekomon and Otamamon believe ShogunGekomon is correct - safety comes first. The Agumon, on the other hand, agree that our approach is more pragmatic and gives us strength in numbers."

TK nodded his understanding as they made their way through the village towards the grand palace located along the shore where they were once again greeted by Starmon. Starmon grunted on seeing them but made no attempt to greet them, instead turning around and walking in another direction. Cody took the moment to add, "He's upset since we're helping to fight the Digimon Emperor and bringing the freed digimon here. He says it makes his job harder but I think he's just lazy since he never leaves the palace anyway."

They reached the throne room of the palace where ShogunGekomon once again sat on his throne with his head slumped over one of the arms. Waiting in there with him were Ogremon and the remaining digimon. Upon seeing them enter, the little plant digimon squinted her eyes before squealing in delight, "Mimi!"

"Palmon!" the older girl threw out her arms excitedly and ran to her partner, meeting halfway where the plant jumped into her arms, "Mimi! It's you! It's been too long! Finally! I was so sad and I thought I'd never get to see you but here you are!"

"Palmon! Oh, I missed you so much! Are you okay? You're not hurt are you?" Mimi asked her partner through the hug. The sounds of their joyful reunion stirred the sleeping ShogunGekomon. With a loud groan, he cracked a tired eye open and scanned the room before it came to rest on Mimi, "That voice. That beautiful voice. Is it...it is! Princess Mimi! You've...digivolved...hmm, can you change back? Your old look was better."

"I'm not fond of it either," Mimi looked down at her clothes with a half smile before place her finger to her lips playfully and winking, "Still, don't you think it's cute?"

"It's...nice...but it isn't you," ShogunGekomon sighed, to Mimi's distress, "What are you talking about? Of course it's me. I think I'd know if I wasn't me."

"That's not what I meant. You are you but the clothes and hair...they're not sincere," ShogunGekomon explained, trying to be careful with how he phrased his choice of words. Mimi smile disappeared but she still answered, "I did the best I could with what I had. Anyway, what's going on? What can we do to help?"

"Well, it would help if you could convince your friends to stop provoking the Digimon Emperor," ShogunGekomon gestured at the rest of their team, "The last thing I want is to get my people involved in another conflict that results in needless death."

"You know that's not what happened ShogunGekomon," Gatomon pointed out angrily, "He attacked already even though you didn't do anything. That means he'll do it again and he's not going to give us a chance next time. He'll just start sending those dark rings everywhere!"

"Either that or he'll just go around killing everyone to make a point," Ogremon chimed in, unaware of how grim he'd just sounded. ShogunGekomon was unmoved by their arguments and grumbled, "I won't do anything to bring him down here, no matter what you do. You're the digidestined, so you're free to do what you must to save the Digital World. I've done nothing to stop you so show me the same courtesy. Leave my people out of it."

"Why not! You've seen the digimon we've rescued! The Emperor is nothing but trouble and you're not doing anything to help!" Kari said angrily which made ShogunGekomon snap, "Because there is a traitor in our midst and we don't know who it is! Ninjamon made it clear while we were interrogating him. There is a traitor in our midst. A spy who reports any move we make to the Emperor. Until we know who it is, we will do nothing - otherwise the Emperor will know every move we make before we make it."

A stunned silence befell the group before TK asked, "How come you didn't tell us about this?"

"The spy reports directly to the Emperor. He will know any move we make before we even make it. As far as I'm concerned, this means the only safe option is to make no move at all," ShogunGekomon replied sternly, "At least until we root him out."

* * *

Just outside the throne room, Starmon waited with his arms folded and his knees bent so that he could lean casually against the wall. He nodded as he continued to listen to the digidestined's pleas, amused at their stubbornness and ShogunGekomon's fortitude. After they bickered a little longer, ShogunGekomon politely but firmly asked them to leave his throne room. As far as he was concerned, it served those digidestined right to be removed from his presence. They'd been acting as if the whole Digital World owed them a favor ever since they first showed up even though all they'd done was stir trouble.

As the digidestined departed, they noticed him standing there with his arms crossed. He wasn't in the mood to speak with them and was about to leave when the Veemon called out to him to stop him, "Hey! Were you lishtening in on ush?"

Starmon scoffed and joked, "Don't worry your pretty little head. It's not like any of y'all said anything new."

"So you were spying on us!" Yolei's tone sounded more like a question than a declaration. Starmon laughed, "Just trying to do mah job to protect the fine folks of the village. Gots to make sure you lot aren't going to go bringing any more of those refugees and make my life harder. It was bad enough keepin' everything safe in the walls. Now I got to worry about outside the walls too."

Davis growled and tightened his hand into a fist until TK calmed him down, "Don't worry about him Davis, he's just trying to rile you up."

"Yeah, well it worked," Davis grunted.

"Forget about him, we need to think of a way to get ShogunGekomon to do something besides just sitting back and letting us do all the work," Armadillomon stated plainly. Cody mulled this idea uneasily and added, "I don't like forcing others to do something they don't want to, but I also don't like the idea of knowing he has the power to do something and chooses not to. He wants to protect the digimon who serve him. Is that so wrong?"

"We should be careful where we talk about this guys. Don't forget what ShogunGekomon said - the Emperor has a spy here," Gatomon reminded the group as they made their way out of the entry hall. They relocated to the restaurant run by the egg digimon Digitamamon and spoke quietly to avoid being over heard. There were plenty of digimon present and any one of them could have been the spy. Digitamamon was insistent they pay this time, and was met with many digimon offering to pay in return for being rescued by the digidestined previously.

Once everything was settled, they went to their own booth in the corner of the restaurant and tried to ignore the unwanted attention. Mimi asked, "So what are we going to do about the emperor? It sounds like you guys have been doing okay by yourselves. Why not just fight him head on?"

"We did that once. He kicked our butts. Hard," Hawkmon admitted quietly, "So far, all our wins basically boil down to us avoiding a direct fight."

"What about Agumon? Has he shown up since the Emperor was here last time?" Kari asked curiously, hoping that any news would also include information about the well being of her brother. Gabumon shook his head, "Nope. Plenty of Agumon - none of them are the Tamer's partner. No Tamer either."

"Let's not worry about them. I said it before. They're good at taking care of themselves," Gatomon stated, "We should focus on on what we're going to do about the Emperor."

"I say why not go after him again? With all of us going at once, there's no chance we could lose," Mimi said ecstatically, to Palmon's dismay, "That's what they tried last time - only they had Matt and Gabumon. They still lost."

"Matt and Gabumon?" Mimi repeated wide eyed, "You don't say."

"And the fact that the Emperor captured Agumon previously. We still have no idea where The Tamer is and you said Agumon disappeared after the Emperor's last attack," Izzy pointed out to them, "I hate to say it but-"

"Izzy, don't," Patamon told the computer whiz just as Kari's eyes looked back downward.

"Sorry, I'm confused," Michael interrupted again with his broken Japanese, "Digimon Emperor is bad and we fight, but should we…um…what's word…study first…learn about bad guy…better fight."

"Wow, someone who's harder to understand than Izzy," Gomamon said with a hung head, not at all surprised by this revelation about humans. This was exacerbated Betamon offered in equally broken Japanese, "I think he mean to scout."

"It's not a bad place to start. We can head out after we eat," TK said quietly, looking at Izzy and Yolei, "How do we follow someone with the digivices again?"

"Discover Mode," Izzy replied cautiously, watching Yolei start fiddling with her digivice, "We can get to him but that's not a guarantee that we can sneak up on him. Especially with that big old flying ship of his. Hopefully, he hasn't figured out how to use any of its weapons yet."

"I don't even want to think about it," Kari shuddered, "He doesn't seem like the kind of person who would hold back on using it if he could."

"Got gun! He's...out in the ocean. What?" Yolei blinked, showing them the screen which clearly indicated the Emperor had returned out to the ocean for whatever reason. She pushed another button to show a different screen, "And look. The control spires we took down are back up. And there's more of them."

"What do you mean more of them? How can there be more of them?" Davis slammed his hands on the table so hard the food shook. Veemon elbowed his partner, "Careful Davish! You almosht knocked all the food over!"

"We put all that work into keeping them down and now there's more of them? What, did this kid decide to just live here permanently? How can there be more of them than normal?"

"It is a weekend. Maybe he has absolutely nothing better to do?" Mimi suggested which made TK snort in laughter, "So the Digimon Emperor doesn't have a life? That's...too funny."

Kari frowned at the boy from her end of the table, "I don't see how it could be TK."

Cody interjected in the middle of TK's laughter, "We've never given much thought to who he is in the Real World. It would be sad to think that he's the lonely type in the Real World."

"It would be if he wasn't such a jerk," Yolei reminded Cody angrily, "Maybe he goes to our school. I mean, I say it all the time, but his voice is familiar. You don't think it's one of the bullies?"

"I doubt it. We would've noticed by now. Besides, we only saw three lights come out of the computer screen, remember?" TK reminded them, "One to you, one to Cody, and another to Davis. Three digivices."

"But my digivice just show up. Maybe same thing happened to Emperor guy," Michael suggested. Betamon spoke freely between bites, "So who his partner? If he digidestined, he must have partner."

"It's probably that little caterpillar that hangs around him all the time - Wormmon," Cody mused, "He digivolves to that giant bug Stingmon."

"A creepy bug digimon for a creepy guy," Mimi shivered in disgust, wrapping her arms around herself as he skin crawled. TK noticed Izzy frown at that comment, and wondered if Mimi had said those specific words to tease Izzy. Betamon added, "If he's in ocean, then that's my specialty."

"Me too, after I Armor Digivolve," Armadillomon said proudly. Gomamon lowered his head briefly for a moment but eventually managed to smile at them, "Good luck to you guys. Hopefully, you can manage without me and Joe."

Izzy snapped out of his stupor from Mimi's comment long enough to return to the conversation and add his own thoughts, "They'll have us - we'll help to keep them out of trouble. But I think it would be prudent for all of us to be cautious. We don't know what he's up to but it's never been good. For your guys' safety, I think it'd be better if you didn't come along for now."

He looked specifically at the other digimon - Biyomon, Gabumon, and Gomamon. The three sighed, lamenting not being able to participate.

"I'd gladly accompany you but the news about the spy within ShogunGekomon's court is cause for concern," Wizardmon nodded quietly, "I'll stay for now and see if I can help weed them out."

"And a few good whacks from my club will get them to sing," Ogremon said while raising his club over his head, "I'll stay too!"

"Well...be careful," Gatomon said to the wizard specifically. The wizard met her gaze with the most curious fascination before asking, "Gatomon, I've been meaning to ask since we met - and forgive me if I seem long winded. Your preferential treatment of me hasn't gone without notice, and you were suspiciously distant after the phenomenon with the shadow in the Real World."

"There's that Izzy speak again," Mimi giggled to herself quietly, misreading the sudden shift in attitude among the older digidestined. Kari suggested, "I don't think this is the time to talk about this Wizardmon."

"It's okay Kari," Gatomon said, quietly moving her paw to tug at the side of Kari's shirt, "What's your question Wizardmon?"

"It concerns an old story regarding the digidestined that I've come to understand in my research. They say that you, Gatomon, were close with a friend from your time as a slave to Myotismon - a Wizardmon. Which leads me to ask, is your preferential treatment of me a result of you attempting to treat me as a replacement to your deceased friend?"

Gatomon was quiet for the longest time, which left a tense air in the group despite the busy restaurant they were eating at. Eventually, Izzy broke the silence, "To borrow some words from Joe, I think now would be a good time to go."

"What, why are we going?" Davis asked with a mouth full of noodles. Both Veemon and TK tried to pull him away which he stubbornly resisted until TK stated, "They just need a moment alone Davis."

"Why? I'm not done eating," Davis explained, grabbing his bowl as he helped himself to the food. While he was escorted out, Kari asked her partner, "Will you be okay?"

Gatomon still held onto her shirt but managed a short nod before letting go. While the others started to leave, Kari stayed just a little longer - worried to leave her partner's side during a time when she might need her. In all her time knowing Gatomon, she'd never seen her face so uncertain about what to do and the idea of leaving her was not one she was willing to entertain. However, Gatomon nodded for her to go again and Kari understood that she wanted to talk to Wizardmon alone. Kari nodded and left with the others just as she heard Wizardmon say, "I suspect that I should have chosen a more appropriate time to discuss the matter."

"Yeah, no duh," Gatomon replied with a small laugh. Even if she was being placed in a difficult situation, it seemed her partner still had her sense of humor. As much as she'd have wanted to stay with her partner, she knew that Gatomon sometimes needed a little space.

* * *

It would be a long while before Gatomon rejoined them outside. The digidestined waited outside as they were thanked by many patrons for saving them, as well as Digitamamon for finally paying the bill instead of skipping out. When Gatomon finally rejoined them, her expression was as solemn and difficult to read as it had been when they'd left. However, her voice was notably more cheery than it had been before, "Okay, so where are we going?"

"Did everything work out okay Gatomon?" Kari asked worriedly, to which her partner replied, "Yeah. We hashed it out but I don't want to talk about it."

"Where's Wizardmon?" Hawkmon asked curiously, "The others were going to walk back with him."

"He didn't want to talk about it either so he left the way he usually does: snap his fingers and disappear," Gatomon said sheepishly before hurrying ahead towards the gate, "We're burning day light. Let's go after the Emperor already."

"We'll be heading back to the palace. Good luck you guys," Biyomon waved as they started walking, "Kick the Emperor's butt."

"Believe me, this is a rematch I've been waiting for," Davis said, punching his palm with his fist enthusiastically. Their groups parted ways with the older digimon to go to the beach just some distance from the village. They went some distance, partially to avoid making a scene by departing out to sea but also in case there was a spy working for the Digimon Emperor who may have been inadvertently following them around the village.

When they were far enough away, the digimon who could fly digivolved while everyone else hitched a ride - MegaKabuterimon, Halsemon, Nefertimon, Pegasusmon, and Lillymon helped to carry them on their trip across the ocean.

Their trip was largely uneventful and they enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of their trip. Mimi seemed the most uneasy, scanning the horizon until she could see the massive warship looming in the horizon, "Is that it?"

"That's it," Davis said excitedly. They stopped their approach at that moment and let Cody go ahead with Submarimon to investigate it from beneath the waves - believing that the Digimon Emperor wouldn't expect anything below the ocean to attack. As they drew closer beneath the waves, Cody asked aloud, "You don't think he's put another control spire do you?"

"I don't think so. He probably doesn't even know we're coming," Submarimon replied, approaching the flying ship in the distance. As soon as they were beneath it, a swarm of flying machines exited out of an opening at the base - moving like a cloud towards the ocean. Cody gulped, "He's sending out his army! He's seen us."

"That can't be it! We're still below the water, but there's something else up ahead. Do you see it?" Submarimon answered. Cody looked ahead to see a wall of water whirling violently ahead of him, spiral downward into darkness. Cody blinked in disbelief at the current, unable to believe that something so ferocious could possible exist in the center of the ocean like this. This whirlpool's bottom, or lack thereof, was unsettling to both as it seemed to continue down in to the abyss and perhaps even further. The sight of it filled them with dread and fore doing - a sickening feeling that made death seem like reprieve.

* * *

The Emperor gazed out into the whirlpool below - overwhelmed by the knowledge that such a massive swell of darkness could be considered a small hole in reality - a weak point not large enough to let anything through but significant enough to allow two worlds to touch each other. The Mekanorimon servants he'd commanded descended down into the darkness on his command, seeking out the data on the one digimon he'd need to complete his ultimate creation.

He watched the little red blips on the radar descend into the abyss, filling the comms with noise as they chatted.

"Proceeding in. Current depth is 50 meters below sea level."

"It's cold down here."

"Depth at 75 meters. Lights are starting to flicker."

"What are you scared off? It's just a whirlpool."

"All of you shut up. Stick to scans. The Emperor wants his data as soon as possible."

The Emperor smiled, continuing to watch the blips as they descended until they vanished, one by one, until the radar was empty. He tapped the screen to make sure it wasn't a glitch, eyes wide in disbelief. Fifty of his best Mekanorimon were sent to scan the data pool. It had to be a mistake, an error by equipment that become faulty through years of disuse. He pressed the button that activated the microphone, "Attention all units. Report in immediately."

Silence.

"Alpha Squadron, do you copy? Bravo Squadron? Charlie? Delta! Is anybody on this stupid thing?"

More silence.

"Answer me!"

Quiet. Dead air that had filled with the radio chatter moments ago. He shook his head and assured himself that it was just an instrument error. There was no other option for him but to go out and do it himself - he couldn't trust the hapless digimon to do it without supervision. He sighed and proceeded out into the darkened ship interior, annoyed at the cold and empty feeling he was left with. As he proceeded into the dark halls, he began to rely on his memory of the path - the counted steps and turns - just to navigate the pitch black. Twenty steps then a left, thirty more steps before a right, etc To distract himself from the darkness, he focused on what his partner could be doing at that time; possibly in the kitchen preparing snacks or even attending to the maintenance of the ship.

A soft giggle caught his attention, and he stopped in his tracked to face the darkness, "Who's there?"

" _Do you really think you can control destiny_?" a soft voice asked back, giggling at him. The Emperor grit his teeth, "To hell with destiny. I am the Emperor of this world! I will break its will to defy me and lead it to a better future. Even if I have to drag it there, kicking and screaming!"

The voice laughed, " _Your actions mean nothing. They amount to little more than a small child throwing a tantrum_."

"Is that you? Digimon Tamer!? COME OUT HERE AND FACE ME!" He shouted into the darkness. The voice started laughing even harder, " _The Digimon Tamer? Do you think he would ever come here? Into the dark…into the cold…into this void. You're more a fool than you realize - a play thing for fate._ "

"Don't you dare mock me!" the Emperor snapped at the darkness, only to feel something tug on his pant leg. He could tell from the feelers and the impish voice that it was his partner, "My Emperor? Why are you just standing in the hall way? Who are you talking to?"

He paused, realizing he was yelling at nothing and replied, "It's nothing Wormmon. Nothing at all."

"You sound scared," his partner said with a worried tone. Unable to deal with any more insinuations, the Emperor strode past his partner, "I said it's nothing. We lost contact with the scouting teams so I'm going out to scan for the data myself."

* * *

Cody and Submarimon weren't gone long and returned shaken by what they'd witnessed. Mimi asked first, "Well, what's he doing?"

"I don't know. But it's not good. There some kind of whirlpool that he's hovering over. And whatever it is, it's not good. It's...wrong," Submarimon said, "It's...evil."

"I'd say it's dreadful but not evil," Cody stated matter of factly. TK, Kari, and Davis swapped glances with each other. Nefertimon was the first one to put the question into words, "What exactly did you see in the whirlpool?"

"Nothing. Just darkness," Cody stated, "It went too deep to actually see clearly."

Davis noticed TK and Kari shiver. He wanted to say something to the girl but Mimi beat him to the punch, "Don't tell me you guys are afraid of the dark. What else did you guys see?"

"Well, a bunch of digimon just left the ship," Cody answered nervously. Izzy put a hand to his chin, "I doubt that was the entire contingent, but it's a safe bet that there won't be as much resistance when we get there."

"Then I say we attack now while we can!" Mimi declared with her digivice out, "Let's go Palmon!"

"You said it Mimi! Palmon! Digivolve to! Togemon!" Palmon leapt off her partner and digivolved into a large cactus with boxing gloves in a flash of light. Another flash of green light followed and Togemon digivolved again, "Togemon! Digivolve to! Lillymon!"

The flowery pixie grabbed Mimi and flew straight for the Emperor's ship, ignoring the cries of the other digidestined to wait until she was out of ear shot. Michael sighed and scratched his head, "I don't know Mimi well before...is always reckless?"

"She just follows her heart more than her head," Izzy replied sheepishly, patting his partner, "MegaKabuterimon! We can't fall behind her. She's going to hurt herself!"

"Yeah, Shtep on it!" Veemon growled, "I came all this way for a rematch and I'm not going to missh it becaushe I washn't in the front."

"I'll do my best but it'll be hard to keep up when I'm carrying all of you," MegaKabuterimon grunted angrily at Veemon stamping his foot upon his head. Cody climbed onto Pegasusmon while Submarimon regressed back to Armadillomon - and they hurried after the girl who was rushing ahead straight for the Emperor's ship. They circled it once to find a good landing space and chose one of the outcroppings that served as a makeshift landing platform. The same one where the Emperor had previously beaten Davis into submission just to prove a point. Feelings of revenge overwhelmed both Davis and Veemon, both ready to give the Emperor a long overdue dose of pay back.

The door was still sealed shut to prevent any unwarranted entry. Thankfully for them, there was port on the side of the door for Izzy to connect his laptop, "This will just take a second. The interfacing between my laptop and this tech has always been weird."

"Did it just get colder to anyone?" Kari asked, wrapping herself in her arms, "It's freezing."

"It did, yeah," TK said, breathing out and seeing his breath mist in front of him. Davis acted upon hearing Kari's comment and offered his pilot's coat to Kari, "Here, borrow my coat."

"Thanks Davis," Kari shivered against the freezing air. Mimi folded her arms, "What's with you guys? How can you be freezing? We're in the middle of the ocean, on a hot day, and I'm sweating like crazy."

"Got it," Izzy said just as the rock slid aside to grant them access into the ship. The entry way was as dark as the whirlpool below and Izzy blinked, "He still doesn't have the lights on? That's weird."

"Maybe he likes sitting in the dark? Who knows with that crazy," Armadillomon shrugged. Izzy typed away on his keyboard, "Either way, we're not going to get anywhere in the dark. Let me see if can pull up a map and get the lights…and…done."

The hallway came to life with light and a new image appeared on Izzy's screen - a detailed lay out of the inner workings of the ship. Izzy traced it with his finger, "Okay, the prison cells are further down. We should hurry before-"

A deafening roar behind them made them all turn their heads in time to see another Mekanorimon departing the ship. The normally blurred cockpit was crystal clear, and allowed them to witness the emperor himself at the controls. Cody gasped, "Where's he going?"

"I don't know but it's good for us. He won't be expecting us to be here when he comes back," Mimi took the lead once again and hurried inside, "Come on guys!"

* * *

The Emperor piloted further into the swirling vortex of water, scanning the weak point between worlds for what he was looking for. It had to be here and he wasn't about to leave empty handed. Initial scans of the upper levels indicated what he was looking for wasn't up there so he descended further into the vortex - where the water became so dark that no light could penetrate it. The further he descended, the more he realized a soft whisper had been speaking to him, " _Most people hear the ominous signs of their own impending insanity and retreat in fear. They fear their own madness, yet you came running after it - into the dark and the cold."_

"I'm ignoring you now," the Emperor said quietly.

" _Yes, you're ignoring the voice in your head. That's why you're talking to it. Or perhaps, you're sane enough to realize that this voice that only you can hear is real. And you've come to answer the call. You ignored the overwhelming dread and anxiety it gives you and pursued it in the name of curiosity. Or perhaps the pursuit of power drove you here. Not that it matters. You'll never be able to change a thing in this miserable world, no matter how hard you try. We learned that a long time ago._ "

The Emperor focused on the radar scanner as he continued scanning the world around him, still trying to find the being he was looking for.

" _Not in the mood to talk? Fine, I'll talk. After all, you must be so terribly frightened to have lost the ability to speak back. For all your grand standing, it seems that even the terrifying Digimon Emperor has things that he is afraid of. Strip the facade of the Emperor away, and you really are nothing more than a scared, lonely little boy trying to prove himself to a world that doesn't care._ "

"Found you," the Emperor said gleefully as the radar started beeping to indicate the target he'd been scanning for. He turned the controls towards the blip and hurried towards it, noticing a thin black figure in the darkness - leathery wings, horns, belts, and two burning red eyes looked back in the darkness. The Emperor smiled once he found it, "Devimon. In the flesh. Or maybe I should say data."

Devimon smiled back, " _You think you can control me? Try if you can. I am one in a million, a legion of darkness unto myself. Take my data if you wish, but you will never take control._ "

"Gladly," the Emperor said, pressing a button that fired two missiles from Mekanorimon at the devilish figure before him. The demon smiled victoriously as he was turned to data in a fiery flash of light. During that brief moment when the light lit up the darkness, the Emperor glimpsed something else - strange alien figures that made his skin crawl and his mind hurt from their impossibility. These were not creatures that used fear, they were fear. He pushed a few more buttons to begin the data gathering process. The sooner he finished this, the sooner he could leave and the sooner he would never have to come back.

Yet the voice of Devimon continued, " _Are you afraid? After you killed me, you're still afraid? Perhaps it finally begun sinking in. The desperate realization that you are not in control. That you will never be in control. All you can do is become a play thing for the universe._ "

"Shut up," the Emperor said again, pushing more buttons in a vain attempt to speed up the process. Once again, Devimon's voice mocked him, " _You have no power here Emperor. You can leave the darkness but you will never escape its hold._ "

The Emperor clicked his tongue once the process was complete, then hurried to move his Mekanorimon. The sooner he was out of here, the better.

* * *

The digidestined explored the deep inner workings of the ship in search of the holding cells that may hold a captured Tamer or the control room where they could take control of the ship. In that time, they were certain of one thing - Izzy had no idea how to read the map. After an extensive trek, Davis groaned, "Great! We're lost!"

"We're not lost. I'm just trying to find our location on the map. The map says we should be in the mess hall but this obviously isn't the right place," Izzy said, still looking at his laptop's screen. Tentomon sniffed the air, "I smell food which means we must be close."

"I doubt it," Palmon folded her arms, "We'd be able to see it by now."

She went to lean against one of the walls and gasped as she fell into it, disappearing into the other side. Izzy approached the wall and touched it with his hand only to slip through just as easily, "Of course. The wall is fake. An illusion!"

"Yeah, right," Palmon groaned from the other side, massaging her side, "I think we found the mess hall."

Everyone piled inside to find a large cafeteria stocked with empty tables and chairs in rows running from one wall to another. Along the walls were various monitors displaying different angles of the ship's outside: the massive expanse of ocean, the dark whirlpool that the ship hovered above, and another image that made TK's freezing body run hot with rage. Patamon, Mimi, Izzy, Tentomon, and Palmon all panicked on seeing it.

It was hard to forget Devimon after what he'd done to Angemon - or how he'd antagonized the kids when they first came to the Digital World. Then Devimon vanished, destroyed by an attack from a Mekanorimon that set about absorbing his data. Cody pointed it out in confusion, "What's he doing? He just destroyed that digimon."

"That digimon is better off dead," TK said, unaware that fists were shaking violently. Davis noticed and commented, "Dude, are you really that cold?"

"No, I'm livid," TK replied.

 


	13. Boarding Party

TK marched towards Izzy with his fist clenched tight into a ball, not realizing just how dangerous he sounded, "Where is he going to land?"

Although he was older and taller, Izzy felt cowed and backed away, "TK, I think you should-"

"Where is he landing?" TK asked again, his tone becoming more dangerous with each word he spoke. Izzy tried inching back again but TK followed him closely, until Patamon pulled at his sleeve, "Hey! Come on, TK. This isn't you."

TK seethed a few breaths in anger, wearing a look oddly reminiscent of another boy who'd gone on a mad rampage not that long ago. After a moment, TK let Izzy go and made his way towards the door of the mess hall, "Let's go Patamon."

"Where are you going, TK?" Patamon asked, anxiously following his partner and wondering whatever could possibly be going through his mind in that particular moment of time. TK answered with silence, disappearing out of the hallway and into the darkened lab. Davis scratched the back of his head and stared for a moment after they'd left, "I don't get it. What's with TZ?"

Izzy answered as best as he could, "That digimon we just saw on the screen is called Devimon. When we first came to the Digital World, a Devimon tried to kill us by sending mind controlled digimon at us the same way the Emperor did. Patamon was finally able to beat him by digivolving, but gave his life in the process. TK was upset about it at first until Patamon reformatted. I assumed he'd gotten over it but I guess…he carried more baggage than we realized."

Mimi had closed her eyes and taken several deep breaths since TK began his little uproar before answering, "I know the feeling. I think we should follow him before he…um…does something he'll regret."

"You mean like you almost did?" Palmon asked, a statement she ignored as she followed TK out. Izzy and Michael both worriedly followed them, followed by their partners telling them to be careful - which left the rest of their group behind and bewildered as to what had just happened. Davis scratched his head, "I feel like I just watched the sequel to a movie I missed. Does anyone know what just happened?"

"TK freaked out and ran off," Armadillomon replied flatly. Davis rolled his eyes, "Yeah, no duh. Why, though?"

"I don't know, but I'm worried. I've never seen him like that before," Kari continued to watch the door the others had just hurried out of. Gatomon sighed and began strolling in the opposite direction, "They'll be fine. I say we go back to finding the holding cells. It's got to be around here somewhere, right?"

Kari was still looking out the door, torn between going after her friend and finding her brother. Eventually, she did manage to speak, "Ye…yeah. Let's go."

"They'll be okay right?" Yolei asked nervously. Gatomon shrugged indifferently and motioned for them to follow her, "Probably. Other than Michael and Betamon, those guys have been running off into danger for a long time. If anything, we should worry about ourselves. Let's go!"

The remainder of their groups followed Gatomon further into the ship, in the opposite direction of the others. They'd only gone a few steps when Cody asked the obvious, "Didn't Izzy have the map?"

* * *

The Emperor breathed a sigh of relief once he'd landed the Mekanorimon back inside the ship. It took him a moment longer to collect himself before stepping out of the digimon. He was still reeling from the digimon's words as they echoed repeatedly in his memory. When he found the strength to finally leave the machine digimon, he only managed to walk a few feet before he stumbled and fell to the ground. Even now, he could hear the voice of Devimon mocking him - deriding everything he'd done up to this point. He shook his head and felt his knees shake as he attempted to stand himself up.

The Ancients' documents on dimensional shifts indicated that there were always physical symptoms from the process of jumping between worlds - dizziness, nausea, disorientation. But those symptoms always passed and this would as well. After all, he'd done plenty of jumps between the worlds before. This was no different. That's what he told himself, ignoring the fact that he hadn't crossed the boundary between worlds but stood intentionally in the boundary. He had to assure himself that this was the same thing.

The first few steps took him longer than it should have, stumbling a few times and using the Mekanorimon to support himself. Thankfully he regained his balance in time to hear a voice over the intercom - his partner Wormmon, "Emperor! Thank goodness you're back! The digidestined are on the ship!"

"What?" he glanced upwards at the nearest speaker, just now realizing the lights were on, "But when? How?"

"They're sneaking around the lower levels right now. Andromon is moving to intercept them, but another group is heading your way," Wormmon said urgently, "I'm in the control room. I've seal it off so that they can't get in. Please hurry."

The Emperor shook his head to straighten his senses before answering, "Okay. I'm coming Wormmon! Hold on."

" _Why do you fight them? You're on the same side, aren't you? Perhaps you've truly lost your way in the dark._ "

He pushed himself forward, making his way through the darkened halls of the ship towards his partner, trying to ignore the continued mocking laughter of the dark digimon Devimon. He'd just defeated him, so why was he still laughing at him? The Emperor shook his head to silence the noise and hurried straight towards the bridge, still drowning in the echoes of laughter, "We don't have time to deal with them."

* * *

TK's stomping didn't stop even long after he realized he had no idea where he was going. He was too mad to even think about that fact. The Digimon Emperor destroyed Devimon, and then absorbed the data that was left over. He had no idea what for, but TK wanted to make sure the Emperor didn't use it for whatever he was planning.

"TK! Please stop! Or at least slow down so that we can keep up!" Patamon pleaded with his partner, making TK finally stop his march as he realized Patamon had been out of breath from trying to keep up. TK hung his head in shame, quietly admitting, "I'm sorry Patamon. I'm just...so mad! That Digimon Emperor...he's going to use Devimon for something and whatever it is can't be good. We need to stop him!"

"I'm not saying we shouldn't, but we should figure out where we're going first. I mean, we're lost," Patamon explained to him, quietly looking over his shoulder down the hallway in the hopes of seeing at least one familiar face. They could hear the soft patter of foot steps that made TK call out, "Who's there?"

"It's us!" Palmon shouted, rounding a nearby corner with Mimi, Izzy, Tentomon, Michael, and Betamon. Mimi placed a hand on her hips, "You literally ran out of there. I'm here to make sure you don't do anything stupid. These guys came to make sure we don't get lost."

"Yes...where are others?" Michael looked surprised by the fact that the other digidestined weren't behind him. Betamon answered, "They stayed behind."

"Betamon, why you no say anything?" Michael moaned, only to be dismissed by his partner, "I thought they okay. They do this longer than us."

"Before any of us does anything else stupid, can we please check the map and figure out where we are?" Tentomon pleaded, "This ship is massive and I lost track of where we were three turns ago."

Izzy had already opened his computer and was inspecting the map carefully, looking for any landmarks that would indicate where he'd landed. However, everything just looked like empty halls. He'd tried tracing his finger along the route they'd ran from the mess hall but he'd lost track after the fifth turn - which meant he had no actual clue where any of them were inside the ship. He sheepishly admitted, "I have no idea where we are."

"I thought you smart," Michael thought aloud, unknowingly insulting Izzy enough to make him try once more to find where they were on the map. Mimi shrugged nonchalantly, "Whatever, let's just start blowing things up until we find a way out. You can take care of that, right Palmon?"

"You bet," her plant partner nodded, readying herself to digivolve when both Izzy and TK jumped in front of her, "Don't!"

Izzy spoke faster than TK could but both said roughly the same thing, "You could blow up whole ship!"

"We don't know where we are! For all we know, the fuel tanks are in the next room!" Izzy reasoned at them worriedly, frantically trying to get Mimi to lower her digivice.

"Fuel tanks? You mean diesel? They have gas in Digital World?" Michael raised an eyebrow disbelievingly at the ship, "I guess it sense in this world. So…what big deal? What you going do when find the Emperor?"

"Don't worry about it," TK frowned, unaware of just how intimidating he looked to the others present. For a brief moment, both Izzy and Mimi thought they were looking at The Tamer again - half expecting him to knock light's out. It was made all the more unnerving by the accompanying laughter that came with his expression. They all looked over their shoulders to see the Digimon Emperor walking towards them with a crooked smile, "Oh, don't feel the need to hold back. Please tell me all about what you were going to do to me."

"Oh, hey your glorious Emperorness," TK turned to face him with an unnaturally calm smile juxtaposing his earlier anger, "I wanted to talk to you about that digimon you just destroyed - Devimon."

"Hmph. No quips. I'm disappointed," the Emperor's smile vanished, replaced with a grim frown, "Why on earth would you waste all your time coming to me just to talk about that digimon? The last time I checked, we're supposed to fight those digimon as part of our role as digidestined."

"Because I wanted to ask about what you did after you destroyed it. You did something - you absorbed the data. Why?" TK asked, his tone shifting from delight to controlled anger, "Devimon are vile, terrible digimon. And you collected the data of one while sitting on top of all this Ancient tech. What are you planning on doing?"

The Emperor became gleeful, "I'm planning on investing into a new venture in the name of achieving my goal as the future ruler of this world. I'm going to bring peace and order and I'll do so with a new tool at my disposal."

"Tool? You've figured out how to use the tools on this ship but not turn on the lights?" Izzy asked, earning him a few a curious nods from the other digidestined. The Emperor's smile disappeared, "Unfortunately, no. The ship has some kind of biometric lock on the controls that I haven't quite overridden yet. It was a sort of fail safe they created to prevent the full power of this ship from falling into the wrong hands. Anyway, the ship's weapons are beyond my control but I digress. In lieu of the weapons I'm going to use another technology on this ship - one that can create life."

Mimi took a step towards the Emperor as if to confront him but her tone betrayed her own curiosity, "What do you mean create life? Like, resurrect the dead?"

"Mimi, don't," both Palmon and Izzy said at the same time. Mimi nodded quietly, aware of their concern but also unable to deny her own curiosity, "I know but...guys, I could-"

"Oh, are you curious?" the Emperor cut her off, his frown turning back into a wicked smile, "You should be! This specific Ancient technology lacks the capacity to return life to the deceased. That technology remains elsewhere and out of my reach. But they did leave the technology to create life. Which I can use to get to the technology that can revive life."

"You playing god," Michael's mouth fell open in shock, "You can't do that! Who hell you think you are, play God with life?"

The Digimon Emperor raised a curious eye at the boy, the looked at the others, "Okay. What's with him? Why is he talking funny?"

"He's American and doesn't speak Japanese natively. He's just knows a little bit to get by but it's...not great," Izzy answered sheepishly, looking at Michael apologetically. Not to be pitied, Michael snapped, "Me talk good!"

The Emperor rolled his eyes, "Of course. Because why wouldn't there be a grammatically challenged digidestined on your side. To answer your question, I am the Digimon Emperor, the ruler of this world. I'll do whatever the hell I damn choose to in the name of bringing order to this chaotic world!"

"Yeah, okay," TK clapped his hands slowly, "And in what part of this plan of bringing order did you think it was a good idea to, y'know, take the data of an evil digimon."

The Emperor chuckled, amused at their cluelessness, "Oh don't worry about that. My reasons are my own and-"

"It's just odd that someone who's mission is to bring peace to the Digital World involves something that literally has nothing to do with peace. Unless you're planning on bringing back every digimon who ever died. And, let's be honest, if that's what you have to do to win people over, why would you make your own job harder by destroying digimon left and right."

"Are you going to shut up?" the Emperor scowled, only for TK to shrug, "I don't know? Are you doing to start making sense?"

The Digimon Emperor groaned, reaching into his long flowing cape to retrieve a long black whip, "Just remember, you brought this on yourself."

His arm moved swiftly, arcing the whip into the air and cracking it down hard onto TK's head with enough strength to scratch his cheek. There was silence in the hall, save for the sound of Patamon gasping in shock.

TK felt himself recoil back from the strike but not from the pain, his white hat falling to the floor gently when his head was kicked back. He ran his hand through the spot where the Emperor struck him and felt nothing - no pain. He inspected his hand to see if the Emperor had drawn blood and shook his head, "You always resort to violence don't you? If you're going to try and bring peace to the Digital World, it would help - like seriously help - if you didn't start hitting people the moment they did something you didn't like. Like when you had SkullGreymon attack us because we didn't join your side. It's ironic that someone who wants to bring peace is so damn violent."

The emperor was quiet, "If you're trying to tell me that talking is the way to go, don't waste your time. We already had this discussion, remember? I offered you a chance to join me and you opted to side against me. So if you're trying to guilt me about my methods, just remember that we already tried the peaceful solution."

"You call that peaceful? Yeah, that wasn't really talking. You talked at us, but here's something you haven't done. You should try it. It's called _listen_ to us," TK said to the boy without missing a beat, "Because it sounds to me like if you'd listen, you'd finally realize that what you're doing, all of this, is a terrible idea. It's crap."

The Emperor rolled his eyes in disbelief, "As opposed to what? Tamer's long term plan of trying to maintain destiny, doing nothing as millions are slaughtered? Your half of a plan - where you wait for things to go wrong before doing anything? If there's anything you don't want to acknowledge, it's that my method is not only working but that it's far better than anything you've ever done. Think about it, name something you've ever done that hasn't been reactionary."

"I admit, we usually don't act until something goes wrong but it's better than becoming what you are. I mean, look at what you had to become to achieve this thing you call peace," TK said throwing his arms wide open to gesture to the world around him, "You named yourself the Digimon Emperor, you started telling digimon to obey you, scaring innocent digimon into following your will. Any digimon who resisted, you either enslaved them with your dark rings or you killed them to make a point! What part of any of that makes you think you're the good guy in this story?"

The emperor paused as TK continued his long winded rant without stopping to breath, "You know who that reminds me of? Devimon! We fought one the first time we came to the Digital World. He used his black gears to take control of innocent digimon and make them fight us. We beat him. And now we're fighting him again. Only this time, he's calling himself the Digimon Emperor. You're just like Etemon! Just like Myotismon. The Dark Masters. Whatever your reason for doing anything that you're doing - it doesn't make up for what you've already done and what you're going to do. Because in the end, you're a digidestined whose become the very thing you're supposed to fight. The only thing you can do, right now, to make any of this right, is to stop. Just stop."

The Emperor was silent now, impossible to read through his tinted goggles as he stared at TK from the opposite side of the hall. For a moment, it seemed as if he had accepted TK's reasoning and was prepared to capitulate. That moment ended when the Emperor cracked his whip again at TK, "Don't you dare compare me to those monsters!"

TK was prepared this time, raising his arm up to take the strike of the whip and barely flinching when it struck his arm. He used that chanced to grab the end of the whip and yanked it towards himself forcefully, pulling the whip out of the Emperor's hand, "You did it again. You started hitting me because I said something you didn't like."

The Emperor was stunned silent at TK's defiant display, unsure of what to do next. Even the other digidestined were at a loss. TK added sternly, "See, this is that problem I'm talking about. There's a time to talk and a time to fight. Right now, we were talking because this is the time to be talking."

The self proclaimed ruler of the Digital World flinched fearfully, staring at the blonde boy before him at a loss. At that moment, TK did something none of them anticipated - he threw the whip at the Emperor's face and shouted, "Of course, it's also a good time to fight!"

Being struck by his own whip stunned the Emperor long enough for TK to leap onto the boy, pinning him to the ground. Then he started throwing punches aimed squarely at the boy's stomach. He wasn't trying to kill the Emperor, just pummel some sense into him, "You! Don't! Play! With! The! Darkness! Like! That! Those! Digimon! Are! Evil! And! You're! A! Digi! Destined!"

"TK! Stop!"

"This isn't you!"

"Stop it!"

"Snap out of it before you kill him!"

Michael, Patamon, and Izzy all grabbed hold of TK to pull him off the Digimon Emperor, ignoring his screams to let go. In the midst of the struggle, Mimi slapped the boy across the face - striking with enough force that TK finally felt the sting on his cheek, "Get a hold of yourself TK!"

TK paused, the pain introducing lucidity into his anger and shock at his own actions. The pain was just now sinking in - from Mimi's slap and the whips from the Emperor, and it led to weakness as he stumbled. Izzy and Michael both struggled to hold him up, surprised by the boy's weight.

It was only after the Emperor had scrambled to his feet, grabbed his whip, and pushed past them, that TK's anger returned. He pushed himself out of Michael and Izzy's arms to begin his chase until Mimi shouted after him, "Hey! Wait!"

"Don't worry! I catch him!" Michael said, going after him with his partner, "Let go Betamon!"

"Wait! Don't go alone!" Tentomon said frantically, unable to grab either in time to stop them from escaping. The pain and fatigue vanished as quickly as it came, with TK continuing to pursue the Emperor. He shouted back after them, "We can't let him escape! We have to stop him!"

He was stopped when both Michael and Betamon tackled him to the ground, "CALM DOWN!"

"TK! We're going to stop the Emperor. But first you have to calm down!" Mimi said, grabbing hold of him with Izzy's help again. It took them all to keep him from getting back up, and she added, "We're trying to make sure you don't do something you'll regret."

"Right now, I regret not stopping him!" TK nearly shouted until Mimi slapped him again, "Stop it! i know I'm a little spacey and act without thinking a lot. So if I'm telling you to calm down, you better believe you're not in the right!"

That fact sank in for the blonde haired boy and he finally relaxed enough for Michael to climb off him. He pushed himself up slowly, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down. But his anger broke through as he spoke, "We can't...let him use Devimon's data for whatever he's thinking. You remember what Wizardmon said, right? Whatever he's doing, it involves Myotismon. We have to stop him!"

"We will," Mimi assured him, "But you need to calm down first."

"Devimon killed Patamon! We can't let-"

One more harsh slap struck TK, harder than the last one. He looked at Mimi to see the anger in her eyes and understood what she was trying to do. He wanted to thank her but he also wanted to yell at her for constantly slapping him. She raised a finger at him warningly, "Don't you ever try to pull that card on me Takeru Takaishi! Don't you ever talk to me about losing someone! Do you understand?"

TK nodded, realizing that she knew how he felt better than anyone. She clicked her tongue in disapproval and continued waiting for him to calm down. After a few more deep breaths, he slowed his breathing and realized just how flushed he felt. Mimi was satisfied now and added, "Okay. Now let's go catch that dork."

TK shivered as she walked away, overcome by a familiar cold feeling. Izzy mouthed something in amazement but TK was unable to register in. Michael patted his shoulder and replied, "No worry. We stop him. Good person win!"

* * *

Gatomon led the way through the ship for the rest of their party, absentmindedly thinking aloud, "I hope someone was paying attention to where we were going because I have no idea where I am right now. I thought Myotismon's Castle was bad with that dumb room. This is...I think we've passed this door already."

Cody examined the door suspiciously, "We've been walking in a straight line. There's no way that we've passed the same door twice."

Gatomon wagged a finger cautiously, "That's the thing about all these Ancient tech. They don't always make sense. There's a good chance the ship's outside isn't as big as its inside. Or that a straight line is really a straight line."

Davis rolled his eyes, "Okay, can someone translate that?"

"She meansh that the ship ish bigger on the inshide!" Veemon explained, just adding to Davis confusion, "Okay, I know I like to think I'm pretty smart, but even I know that something can't be bigger on the inside. It wouldn't fit...inside the...outside...What I'm trying to say is it doesn't make sense."

Kari giggled at the idea of him struggling to say what he wanted to without sounding dumb as they continued walking down the hall towards the deep inner workings of the ship. As they walked, Davis mumbled to himself, "So I know PJ and Izzy and the rest of them went off to find the Digimon Emperor. But I thought this whole thing was to find Tamer...er, your brother."

"I don't get it. If he's been around this whole time, why didn't he come find us instead of doing his whole disappearing act?" Yolei asked from her position in the rear. Hawkmon agreed with his partner, "Indeed, the behavior you described sounds aloof and unhelpful to the goals that we are ultimately trying to achieve so to what end do we need him?"

"Will you guys stop using big words?" Davis groaned, "Seriously."

"Hawkmon's sayin' that The Digimon Tamer doesn't sound like he'd be too helpful t'us," Armadillomon simplified the statement, "And he's wonderin' why we're going outta our way to find him."

"He's my brother. That is the only reason I'll ever need," Kari stated proudly, hurrying her pace to take the lead of the group and stopping her in tracks as soon as she rounded a corner. Motivated by her determination, or perhaps trying to woo her, Davis hurried along as well. He froze when she ran back in a panic just as a mechanical voice shouted, "Gatling Attack!"

Gunshots rang out, so close in the small/confined space that they had to cover their ears from the noise. Once it stopped, Gatomon shouted to them, "Run!"

Ears ringing and itching to get into a fight, Davis shouted, "What? I'm not running from a fight, especially after we wasted all this time just to get here! Let's find him and kick his bu-"

Mechanical stomping drew closer from around the corner until Andromon revealed himself with his cannon aimed straight towards them. Davis ducked in time to avoid the first shot, "Alright! I've been waiting to kick some butt! Let's go Veemon! DigiArmor Energize!"

Davis held out his digivice and a blast of light shot forward into his partner. Veemon crackled with blue lightning and rose into the air, "Veemon! Armor Digivolve to! Raidramon, the Storm of Friendship!"

His sudden increase in size made the already narrow hallway even more cramped, forcing them all back just make room. Raidramon charged forward into Andromon, his body crackling with sparks of blue electricity.

"Alarm! Prepare countermeasures!" Andromon grabbed Raidramon and began pushing him back down the hall towards the digidestined, "Warning! Dissidents will be punished!"

"We're not your enemy Andromon! We're your friends! We fought together against the Dark Masters!" Gatomon pleaded with the machine, unable to reach the friend she'd known so long ago. Andromon answered by throwing Raidramon back at them with a loud bang. The hall was so narrow that everyone had to push against the wall just to avoid being crushed by the large digimon. Cody raised up his digivice, "We can't fight in this tight space! Armadillomon! Get us out of here! DigiArmor Energize!"

"Armadillomon! Armor Digivolve to! Digmon, the Drill of Knowledge!" Armadillomon emerged on the other side of a flash of purple light in his enlarged insect form and started drilling through the wall beside them, clearing a path through rooms and out of the cramped hallway. Cody motioned for the others to follow Digmon, "This way! Let's get out of here!"

"Alright! Way to go Digmon!" Gatomon cheered excitedly, following after the digimon with Kari and the others. Davis wasn't as keen on running, "Oh come on guys! We can't just run away!"

Yolei went back to grab his hand, "Davis, we don't stand a chance here! We need to run!"

"Yeah! You would say that! Hawkmon hasn't even digivolved yet!" Davis snapped back until Yolei countered angrily, "Davis! This hall is cramped! If Hawkmon digivolves in here, we'll get stuck! Now come on!"

Davis looked back to see Raidramon exchanging shots with Andromon and realized his partner had little room to move here. This also worked to their advantage as Andromon was having just as much trouble moving in the enclosed space, "Ugh, fine. Raidramon! Come on!"

"Right behind you!" Raidramon grunted. He gave them a few moments to run ahead before following after them. They fled through the deep inner workings of the ship. Every few rooms, Raidramon stopped to hold Andromon back a little longer before playing catch up. With each room, Davis would ask when Yolei would finally have Hawkmon help, a point Gatomon protested, "Get over it Davis! Why don't you ask Kari when she's going to digivolve me!?"

"Because...she knows what she's doing," Davis countered weakly. Hawkmon spat out, "And Yolei doesn't? She's proven herself more than enough, I think. Whatever your issue is, get over it!"

Davis clenched his teeth together, "I'll get over it when-"

The blue coated emperor bumped into him, sending both boys to the floor. Davis massaged his head and looked up at the innocuous assailant, "Hey, watch it you...Emperor...no way."

The fall had messed his hair so that it was off center. It seemed innocent enough, except for the long straight hair that emerged from beneath his normally messy hair. The Emperor quickly moved his hair to straighten it out, but Davis couldn't forget what he'd seen, "Is that a wig? You wear a wig!?"

"It's a disguise, moron," the Emperor growled, straightening his clothes out. Davis laughed, "Dude! What? Why? Who's going to know who you are here?"

"There are plenty of digimon with the ability to slip through worlds," the Emperor argued angrily, however Davis was too fixated on the wig to care, "But why that wig?"

"Don't you dare mock me. Not after the day that I'm having!" the Emperor snapped at the boy. He retrieved his whip from within his cloak until he saw Raidramon enter the scene with Andromon wrestling him against a wall. His grimace became a smile and he returned his whip to within his cape, "Never mind. Andromon, eliminate these pests."

"Orders received! Weapons set from stun to kill," Andromon complied, firing another round of shots from his gun. Everyone hid behind cover while Digmon continued making a path for them. In the middle of the gunfire, Gatomon's frustration came out, "You've gotta be kidding!? Now he's on his kill setting?"

"Cody! We need a larger room if we're going to be able to fight back!" Kari said to the little boy. Cody shouted at Digmon, "Keep going! You can do it!"

"I'm trying! I really have no idea where I'm going!" Digmon shouted back at them.

"Forget that! Don't just drill from one room to another. Drill through the walls. Make us a bigger room!" Gatomon suggested over the sound of gunfire. Raidramon closed the gap with Andromon, taking advantage of the small space and Andromon's larger frame to keep the android from harming any of his friends. He pushed Andromon's arm up so that he was shooting into the ceiling and shouted, "Today Digmon! I can't hold him here forever!"

"I don't need more pressure!" Digmon shouted back, now attempting to tear down the walls around them. As he did just that, they heard a creak from above. A creak that grew into a loud groan that echoed through the ship. In their haste to create a larger fighting area, they hadn't stopped to consider that there were floors above them relying on those walls to support them. And without them, there was a good chance that the floor above would come crashing down on them at any moment.

"Digmon! Stop!" Hawkmon shouted one moment too late. The ceiling's grown grew louder before the first cracks appeared. The groaning became rumbling, the ceiling collapsing under its own weight and fell all around them. Each digimon went to protect their respective partner against the falling debris, pushing them against the wall and out of the way of the debris. Andromon stopped attacking them to raise his arms above his head, stopping a large chunk of the ceiling from falling on him but also leaving him open to attack. Davis saw the opportunity and wished they weren't being rained on by the metal and rock, otherwise he would've knocked the digimon senseless himself.

But it was too late to do anything about it now. From above, they could hear the others speaking. Palmon gasped, "Be careful! It looks like the Emperor destroyed the floor."

"But why here? This had place to do that! We just walk around it!" Michael pointed out in his usual broken voice. Hearing their voices, Kari shouted, "We're down here!"

"You guys fell in the hole?" Tentomon asked, "That's silly."

"No! We made it. Andromon is here! He's attacking us!" Gatomon shouted up at them, "He almost had us until the ceiling came down on us. Where are you guys in anyway?"

"I think it's a hangar," Izzy shouted down, "The Mekanorimon that the Emperor was flying is in here and empty. We ran into him and-"

"Tell us later dude. I think Andromon's starting to dig his way out!" Davis interrupted. Raidramon slipped under the boy and nudged him on to his back, "Yeah, I'm not waiting around to fight him again. Not on my own. Let's go. You guys too."

Raidramon galloped towards Yolei and Hawkmon so they could climb on and leapt up through the hole in the ceiling into a large room. Digmon did the same with Cody and Gatomon in one arm, and Kari in the other. As soon as they'd landed, Davis hurried to check on Kari who was more focused on the spacious room they were now in. She could now digivolve her partner and help fight, "Are you ready Gatomon?"

"Always," the cat nodded.

"I think now's as good a time as any," Yolei agreed raising her own digivice. The two girls shouted together, "DigiArmor Energize!"

"Hawkmon! Armor Digivolve to! Shurimon, the Samurai of Sincerity!'

"Gatomon! Armor Digivolve to! Nefertimon, the Angel of Light!"

"TK! I should digivolve to!" Patamon said, just as Andromon emerged from beneath a rock that he'd splintered in half. TK raised his digivice, "Okay, DigiArmor Energize!"

"Patamon! Armor Digivolve to! Pegasusmon, Flying Hope!"

Andromon leapt through the hole in the ceiling and began his attack, firing from the cannons on his arms and shoulders, "Gatling Attack!"

"Go for cover!" Izzy said, ducking behind a wooden crate while their digimon scrambled to fight. Mimi and Michael joined him behind cover panicking, "What is that!?"

Mimi peaked from behind the crate to see Andromon fighting the other digimon off. She explained for Michael, "Andromon, he used to be a friend of ours. Why is he attacking us Izzy? Is it one of those dark ring deals?"

"No, the Emperor captured and reprogrammed him," Izzy explained, peering around the corner to see the fight for himself. For now, Andromon was adjusting his aim to target each of the digimon who kept him distracted by moving randomly around him - Shurimon, Digmon, and Raidramon ran along the ground while Nefertimon, Lillymon, and Pegasusmon circled him from above. He spotted Davis poking his head out from behind another crate on the opposite side of the hangar, his gaze fixed on Andromon. Izzy tried signaling for his attention, but the boy didn't seem to notice Izzy. Instead, Davis ran out from cover towards the android, "Hey you bucket of bolts! Over here! Shoot me!"

"DAVIS!" Kari and TK gasped out together just as the android started shooting. Davis dropped down to a slide slid between the android's legs. Andromon continued shooting despite that, turning to retarget Davis as he ran circles around the android. Andromon fired regardless, shooting at the floor around him until it creaked and groaned. Terrified at the idea of another person dying, Mimi gasped, "Davis! What are you doing?"

"Guys, look!" TK pointed at the floor. Andromon took one step before the floor collapsed under him and he fell back into the floor below. Davis punched the air, "Alright!"

They all had to acknowledge the quick thinking on his part, even if he hadn't bothered to tell any of them about. Izzy nodded at his partner, "Tentomon! Zap him! If you hit his memory, it might scramble his programming."

"You too Raidramon!" Davis added.

"Yes sir! Super shocker!" Tentomon shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Blue Thunder!"

Electricity arced from their backs and traveled down to the android digimon below. The digimon writhed from the electricity but was still able to summon the will to aim his weapon, "Gatling Att-att-ta-a-"

Andromon's voice droned out and faded to silence, stopping just short of firing at the rookie. The digidestined gathered around the hole where Andromon fell to see the android frozen in place with his arm cannon extended out. Mimi blinked, "Is he dead?"

Izzy cocked his head to the side while he examined the digimon, "No. I think Tentomon knocked him out. We'll be able to reprogram him now and fix whatever the Emperor did."

"Speaking of the Emperor, we still need to find him! Where'd he go?" TK asked, noting his absence from the battle.

* * *

The Emperor hurried in to the bridge and made sure to seal the door behind him. His partner was waiting for him and hurried to his side, "My Emperor! You made it back! Wait, you're hurt! What happened?"

"Nothing Wormmon," the Emperor said, limping his way to the computer to finish his work on his project. As he typed, he heard the laughter reverberate in his mind, " _So you have the sense to run from the digidestined, but not from the darkness?_ "

"I'm glad you're finding time to revel in my misery," the Emperor scowled, ignoring the confused look on his partner's face. The voice continued, " _It doesn't matter. The ending is predictable anyway._ "

"Oh? And how does this end?" The emperor growled.

" _Don't you know? You are suppose to be the genius aren't you? You've figured out Ancient technology, enslaved hundreds of digimon and put countless others under your control. Don't tell me you didn't see where this story ends?_ "

The Emperor scoffed, wondering if Devimon and The Tamer had been friends at some point with how they talk. Still, he had to finish his work - Andromon was strong, but he wouldn't be able to hold them off the digidestined forever. Especially not in such an enclosed space. He just had to finish his work quickly. He connected the device with Devimon's data and uploaded it into the project, adding Devimon's arms as a second set of limbs. Finally, his work was done and he felt the joys of accomplishment.

He smiled and pressed a few more buttons, letting the biogenesis machine begin its work. The computer indicated that the machine was creating his project and it would be coming to life soon - he giggled in anticipation, ready to see his project come to life. His revelry was cut short by the sound of footsteps from outside, and a commotion just beyond the doors.

" _They're here your lordship. How much longer do you think you have? You can't hide in the dark forever. In fact, you don't even know how to turn on the lights._ "

He looked over his shoulder just as the banging started. When he finally turned to face them, Digmon had just drilled through the door with the others. He greeted with a more perverse smile than he intended, "Good. You're just in time for me to finish my project."

"No, we're too late," TK frowned, "What did you do!? What the HELL did you do!?"

He looked back at the screen and cackled jovially as the processes continued. Soon it would be done. He just needed a little more time.

"I created the weapon I would need to reach the Lazarus Temple - the Ancient facility with the power to bring back the dead," the Emperor smiled victoriously, now satisfied that he'd won, "That will be the crown of my victory over the Digital World. But first, I need to make an example of you digidestined. You defied me time and again, made a fool of me in the Real World, you boarded my ship, made a fool of me while I was on it. I think fighting my creation should be punishment enou-"

The Emperor regretted not looking at them, otherwise he would've noticed Davis marching towards him to punch him in the head, "Will you shut up!? You must love the sound of your own voice for how much you talk!"

The surprise attack only threw him off for a moment. The Emperor spun around and swept the boy's leg while doing so - tripping him straight onto the console. There, the emperor pulled him back up by his hair and strangled him in front of the others, "Stay where you are or I'll snap his neck in half!"

"Let him go!" Kari demanded angrily.

"You let him go right now!" Raidramon added, circling to the side of the console.

"Oh, I'll let him go!" the Emperor cackled, feeling the smile returned as the boy struggled under his hold, "That way you can all die when I introduce you to my latest creation! Your doomsday! YOUR-"

"SHUT UP!" Davis elbowed him in the gut and pulled on his wig, "And take off that stupid wig while you're at it. You look stupid."

"It's a wig?" Mimi asked.

"Yeah! This guys is...no way."

The Emperor had to suppose his identity would come out sooner or later. And the looks of surprise on their faces was definitely worth the secret. He didn't even bother covering his face, instead standing tall to face them and removing his goggles so they could see his face, "What's the matter, surprised?"

" _I enjoyed your reveal. It was worthy of Myotismon. Oh, sorry. You don't like to be compared to him._ "

"NO! IT CAN'T BE YOU!" Yolei gasped, "IT CAN'T BE! THAT'S NOT FAIR!"

"Oh, so you know who I am?" the Emperor smirked, "I suppose my reputation precedes me."

"Yeah, I don't know who he is," Mimi said plainly looking to the others for some kind of explanation, "Who is he?"

"Who am I? Who are you!? You're the one who came onto my ship uninvited!" the Emperor growled at them.

"Mimi, how can you not know who this is?" Izzy threw his arms up in confusion. Mimi motioned her hand over her head, "Well excuse me. I've only lived in America for the last few years. I have no idea who he is."

"Well, then allow me to introduce myself. In the Real World, my name is Ken Ichijouji," the Emperor bowed, "Boy genius, ranked one of the brightest minds in our generation, along with a black belt in several martial arts, regional chess tournament winner several years in a row, among other things."

"Oh," Mimi said in astonishment before adding, "I still don't know who you are or why I should care."

Davis chose that time to add, "Yolei's in his fan club which is probably why she-"

"Not now Davis! Can't you see I'm having an emotional crisis here!" Yolei slapped him, "The had guys we've been fighting is one of the hottest boys alive!"

The Emperor face palmed and sighed, "I can't believe I've been losing to you morons."

"Well we're here to stop you for good," Cody spat at him, "So you can't hurt any one ever again."

The Emperor rolled his eyes and glanced at the screen to see that the biogenesis was nearing completion. He smiled coyly and counted down with the instrument, "Three, two, one."

The entire ship shook and a loud roar echoed from somewhere in the belly of the ship. The digidestined grabbed onto anything they could to stay upright while the Emperor started laughing madly. Michael panicked, "What the hell was that!?"

"My weapon," the Emperor replied.


	14. The Abomination

TK threw himself onto the Emperor and punched as hard as he could. The Emperor stumbled but stood only because TK grabbed his cape next and brought him face to face, "What the hell did you do!?"

"I already told you," the Emperor replied with his devilish smile as the ship shook violently again, "I made a weapon. One that even you digidestined can't stop. Why not just do yourselves a favor and surrender?"

Without a moment's hesitation, TK threw his fist on to the Emperor again and he fell back into the computer console - hitting several buttons at once. The entire ship shook again and a loud rumbling echoed from another part of the ship. Behind him, the screen displayed a single message that flashed in different languages. It took it a while before one appeared that they recognized - 'Self Destruct Initiated'. TK tightened his grip on the Emperor, "Turn it off! Right now! Turn it off!"

"Shut it down? You're the reason it's happening!" the Emperor pressed a button on his cape that undid the clasp holding it shut. He slid out from under the cape and hurried away towards his partner with his black digivice, "Wormmon! Digivolve! Get us out of here!"

Light came from his digivice but not the warm glow they'd all grown accustomed to. The light carried dark hues - reminiscent of the strange world Kari, TK, and Davis visited not that long ago. The sight of it gave both TK and Kari chills as it wrapped around his partner and placed a brief pained look on his face before he shouted, "Wormmon! Digivolve to! Stingmon!"

The large bug digimon carried the Emperor in one arm and used the other to punch a hole through the wall - fleeing through it with spread wings. Mimi ran out to the hole and just barely missed grabbing them. As they escaped, she produced her digivice and told her partner, "Palmon! Go after them!"

"Got it!" her partner leapt out of the hole and digivolved again towards her Ultimate level to give chase. TK turned to Izzy and asked, "Can you shut it down?"

"It's a complex computer system that I don't understand and you want me to shut down the self-destruct. While the ship is on fire and we're also inside that ship," Izzy paused for emphasis, "That ain't happening. I have a better idea. Tentomon, you have to digivolve and get us out of here."

Tentomon understood and leapt through the hole in the wall before the light of digivolution caught him as well. He expanded in size the moment it touched him and digivolved to his Ultimate form, hovering just outside with his arm outstretched for the others, "Climb on."

As Izzy was the first one to board his partner, he glanced up to examine the ship, "The ship's actually going up in flames! We'd better go fast!"

"You guys go ahead! I'm going back for Andromon!" Mimi ran from the hole and back towards the door. Michael took her hand to stop her, "Ship on fire! No time! Go now we do."

"I'm not leaving a friend behind Michael. No one else is going to die! Not on my watch!" Mimi said back, pulling her hand free and disappearing through the door. TK groaned at the day he was having continuing to nose dive, "Oh for the love of...can Davis seriously be the only one who runs into danger without thinking? It's a lot easier to keep track of everyone that way."

"Hey!" Davis grumbled, "You're the one who ran off to go fight the Emperor a few minutes ago!"

"You're both pretty bad about that," Cody mumbled sheepishly, amused that both TK and Davis were too caught up in what they were doing to even notice that he'd said anything.

"Pegasusmon! Let's go help," TK instructed his partner, "Kari, do you mind coming too? We'll need Nefertimon to help carry Andromon out."

"I'm right behind you," Kari and Nefertimon followed the boys out. Davis seemingly took a step to follow, but stopped just short of running after them. As much as he wanted to go with them, he realized that their two digimon wouldn't be able to carry him and Andromon as well. He sighed and gestured for the hole where MegaKabuterimon and Izzy were waiting. Izzy appeared just as Davis did but was content to let Mimi to go off on her own. Davis gestured to the others, "Alright, let's get out of here guys."

"Huh, surprised that you're not going after them Davis," Digmon commented before shrinking down to Armadillomon, "Are ya alright?"

"I'm fine," he replied quietly, looking at Raidramon and signaling to him to return to his form as Veemon. He made sure the others exited the ship before he climbed onto MegaKabuterimon and the large insect buzzed away. The exterior of the massive ship was aflame and clouded with thick black smoke rising from different openings. Along the base of the ship, the lower levels groaned and growled as if the ship were trying to give birth. The sides splits apart so two long black arms could reach out into the air. What followed was an ear splitting shriek as the base of the ship crowned and the head of what looked like a Kabuterimon burst out from it.

The head moved and shook, leaking out a viscous slime that dripped into the ocean below and floated atop the foamy sea. Whatever monstrosity the Emperor was continued to move and crawl its way out to reveal a terrifying mishmash of different digimon - wings from Airdramon and Angemon, the body of a Greymon and MetalGreymon's hair, Devimon's arms, the arms of both Kuwagamon and SkullGreymon, Monochromon's tail, and Garurumon's hind legs. The final touch were the long slender arms that belonged to Devimon - whom the Emperor had just acquired.

This terrifying abomination howled at the world and whimpered like a child before spreading its wings to take flight. Its flight was sloppy and uncoordinated at first, barely managing to keep itself aloft with two sets of wings that didn't want to work together but it eventually found a steady pace that allowed it to hover in the air for a brief period of time. Its eyes were misty and unfocused, staring off into space blankly at the ocean before it, and barely registering the burning ship above. Veemon commented on the beast, "That thing ish masshive! What ish it?"

"It looks like it's in pain," Cody added as the creature continued to whimper and cry, dark colored tears streaming from the sides of its face.

"It's called Kimeramon," the Emperor shouted at them, whizzing past on Stingmon towards the newly born digimon. Michael commented on the Emperor's direction, "He really brave or really stupid if he go near that thing."

"He won't!" Lillymon shouted as she zipped past towards the Emperor. She stopped just short of them when Stingmon flew into the creature's line of sight and hovered just a distance from its face so that it could focus its dazed attention on him and the Emperor. With arms spread out, the Emperor declared to it, "Kimeramon! I am your creator! I gave you life so you will obey my commands! You will acknowledge me as your Emperor!"

The creature growled under its breath but the Emperor and Stingmon stood fast against the intimidating creature. Against its growl, the Emperor added, "I am your Emperor! And you will obey me!"

Again, it reacted only by growling and groaning at the Emperor until he shook his fist at it, "I order you! Obey me! And destroy the digidestined!"

He pointed towards MegaKabuterimon directly and added, "Smite them from my skies!"

Kimeramon groaned one more time and the pitch changed into laughter, an eerie giggle that made hair stand on end. When Kimeramon finally stopped, it was to stare at the Emperor. Angered, the boy asked, "What!?"

Michael leaned in to ask the others, "Is me or is Emperor losing it?"

* * *

TK, Pegasusmon, Kari, Mimi, and Nefertimon navigated their way through the flaming ship and the smoke back towards the hangar. Although they'd retracted their steps as they remembered, it was impossible to tell where exactly they were on this massive warship. Pegasusmon and Nefertimon tried using their wings to clear the smoke, but it also fanned the flames and made it harder to see anything in the blazing inferno. He covered the lower half of his face with his shirt and suggested that Kari do the same before they went any further.

"We should head back! It's getting more dangerous the longer we stay," Nefertimon warned them, hoping that they would realize just how much danger they were in. Mimi pressed ahead without them, as if the danger was not her immediate concern, "We're not going without Andromon!"

"It should be a little further! If we can just make it through here, we can reach him," Pegasusmon added, hoping to encourage the digidestined to go just a little bit further on in. It took them a while to find the hangar where they'd fought Andromon, and even longer to tell which of the many burning holes was the one they'd left Andromon in. The ship shook and fire spread further into the hangar, indicating that they were running out of time. But they soon found him at the bottom of a hole - a tall mechanical man standing still and surrounded by flames. TK called out to the others to get their attention, "There he is!"

"Okay, let's hurry and get him out!" Mimi declared, reaching in to pull the android out. She pulled as hard as she could and could barely make the digimon move. It took all of them reaching into the hole together to lift Andromon off the ground and even then, he just barely made it through the hole.

"He weighs a ton," TK commented, which made Mimi add, "Come on TK! You're a guy! Show off some muscle already!"

TK pulled even harder but it still just barely got Andromon up out of the hole. Thinking quickly, Pegasusmon leapt down into the hole with the android and slid under him, "I'll lift him from down here! Come on!"

With Pegasusmon at the bottom, they were now able to start lifting the android up out of the hole but slowly. Once he was halfway out of the hole, they dragged him away from it along the floor. Once he was clear, all three digidestined collapsed, "Got him."

With the hole clear, Pegasusmon leapt out and shook himself off, "Okay. Let's get out of here while we can!"

With some more heavy lifting, the three digidestined were able to balance the heavy Andromon on both Nefertimon and Pegasusmon. Once they were on, it was time to lift off. The two digimon struggled to balance Andromon between them - and their flight was haphazard and awkward at best. They'd barely made it out of the hangar as the ship belched fire behind them, singing the hairs on the back of their heads.

"That was close," Nefertimon breathed a sigh of relief, "Guys. Can we not do that again?"

The load of Andromon was heavy, forcing TK and Kari to hold the mechanical man between them so that he didn't slip off their partners' backs. When they were some distance away, they heard a loud cringing moan coming from the ship and looked back in time to witness the Emperor and Stingmon shouting at some horrific monstrosity. Just the sight of it triggered anger from TK and he wanted nothing more than to destroy it then and there."

* * *

"I am your Emperor! And you will obey me!" the Emperor declared towards his new creation only to be met with the sting of echoing laughter in his mind again, "I don't obey children throwing tantrums."

The Emperor ignored the mocking laughter that nibbled at his mind, gesturing towards the digidestined and commanding, "I order you! Obey me! And destroy the digidestined! Smite them from my skies!"

"Your skies? These skies aren't yours," the voice echoed in his mind, "Did you forget? You're a digidestined as well. If I am to smite them, shouldn't I start with you?"

"What!?" The emperor repeated angrily, triggering more mocking laughter - whether it was Kimeramon or the mocking voice of Devimon was another matter entirely. Kimeramon looked him in the eye as the voice continued, "Maybe I'll start with you just to make a point - I will smite you from the skies as a warning to the other digidestined. Then I'll kill them anyway. After all, isn't that what I as a creature of darkness must do? You have no domain here Emperor. You never-"

"Flower Cannon!" Lillymon fired a shot of light from the flower blossoming out of her hands, striking the newborn digimon from the side and gaining it's attention. Lillymon flinched back, "Well...that didn't hurt it as much as I thought it would."

"Never mind, I'll be destroying her first. Her partner is already broken. I wonder how much more broken she can be?" the voice echoed in his mind. Kimeramon wailed out a terrible screech before flying after the little pixie, leaving the Emperor stunned by the creature's ability to defy him of its own volition. This couldn't have been right - all the data said Kimeramon should have been a blank slate, something open to suggestion and easily controlled. Especially with the few programs he should have had - like loyalty to the Emperor. Instead, his own creation wasn't just capable of thought, but capable of questioning him. This was supposed to be his ultimate weapon - the one thing that would allow him to reach the Lazarus Temple.

And it was wrong. He'd been wrong. The mere idea of being wrong about anything so sickened and insulted him that he could only think of one response to what had happened, "Stingmon, bring it into line."

"But, my Emperor, what about you? It won't be safe if I don't take you somewhere else," Stingmon countered. Although the Emperor was thankful for his consideration, it was ultimately not needed. He stated, "We've faced worse before. We'll be fine."

"Not on our own we haven't," Stingmon stated, "We had help before."

"Well, that just makes the challenge more interesting. I made this weapon. Let's see what we can do about bringing it to heel!" he grinned dangerously. Stingmon nodded and tightened his hold on the Emperor before hurrying towards the abomination. A single red blade of light extended from his left arm and Stingmon pointed it ahead before nose diving at Kimeramon, "Spiking Strike!"

The blade dug into Kimeramon's back and the Emperor used the momentum to throw himself onto the back of Kimeramon's head. It took him a moment to steady his footing as the digimon howled in pain. He readied his whip and swung it around so that it wrapped around his neck. The digimon immediately tried to untie it but the Emperor pulled harder, half to tighten it and half to steady himself, "I said! I am your Emperor! And you will obey me."

Kimeramon's other pair of arms came to rip the Emperor off his back but Stingmon was ready to defend his partner, kicking both palms away, "You are not laying a hand on him!"

"You can't stop me. How can you stop me when you can't even stop the digidestined?" the voice echoed again in the Emperor's head, followed by long stinging laughter that made his hair stand on end. The Emperor tightened his hold on the whip and growled, "Don't you mock me!"

* * *

"Don't you mock me!" the Emperor shouted at newly born digimon, much to the amazement of the digidestined who were hovering some distance away. It was remarkable how, over the course of a few moments, the Emperor had gone from commanding his new digimon to attacking it while demanding it not mock him. The burning ship was destroying itself just above their heads while Kimeramon growled and hissed in pain, slowly descending upon their heads. Yolei asked, "Should we...um..help?"

"Help who? I thought we were fighting them," Armadillomon pointed out, watching as the Emperor and Stingmon held their own against a much bigger, stronger opponent. Izzy watched closely and remarked, "Does anyone else think the way he moves is a little familiar?"

"Yeah, he's doing a lot of stomping and kicking, like a soccer player," Davis stated, "He was the star player of his team which was ranked the highest in the region."

"No, Izzy's right. I've seen this somewhere before," MegaKabuterimon added, just as the Emperor rolled out of the way of one of Kimeramon's arms. They were so entranced by the display that they didn't notice the others rejoin them in the air. TK was the first to ask, "So, does anyone know what's going on? Why is he fighting his own digimon?"

"No idea. We were deciding if now would be a good time to help or if it would be better or to stand back," Hawkmon stated flatly, "And if we are going to help, then who are we helping. Kimeramon, who has turned on the Emperor that tried to destroy the Digital World or the Emperor who's creation poses an unknown danger to the Digital World."

"And I was saying that the way he fights is sort of...familiar," Izzy said. Mimi squinted her eyes to better see and added, "You know, now that you mention, your brother moved like that when he fought. Tamer I mean. That's how he moved."

"Oh yeah, I see it now," Pegasusmon agreed quietly, "It's a little unsettling."

"But, how do you figure he learned that?" Izzy asked, brushing his chin contemplatively. That exact line of thought brought panic to Kari, "That's right! Tai! He's still in there!"

"Kari! We can't go back," Nefertimon replied to her, "The ship is in flames and I need to help Pegasusmon hold Andromon."

"But-"

"Kari! Believe me. If Tamer and Agumon were that easy to kill, it would've happened already," Nefertimon assured her, "Besides, we need to focus on the giant monster over there."

"I know someone who'll know where Tamer is," TK stated and gestured at Andromon, "MegaKabuterimon, do you mind?"

"Huh? Oh yea, no big deal," MegaKabuterimon used one of his free limbs to scoop up the unmoving android - freeing both Pegasusmon and Nefertimon of the heavy burden. The two digimon stretched their wings before turning into the air back towards the Emperor. Not wanting to sit by while her friends ran head first into trouble, Yolei gripped her digivice and gestured at her partner, "We should probably help them out too, right Hawkmon?"

"You're right Yolei!" Hawkmon took flight and awaited for Yolei to say the words, "Digiarmor Energize!"

"Hawkmon! Armor Digivolve to! Halsemon, the Wings of Love!" the gryphon shouted as he emerged on the other side of his digivolution. He stayed close so that Yolei could reach and climb onto him before flying off to help Pegasusmon and Nefertimon. Michael frowned at their bold displays, "Um...I'm not scared, but is this idea good? I mean, Emperor looks like he has under control."

As he said those exactly words, the Emperor was thrown off Kimeramon's back and Stingmon had to dive in the air just to catch him before he hit the water. Michael corrected himself, "Had things under control."

"Grah! Veemon, please tell me you can digivolve into something that can fly!?" Davis bemoaned having to sit back and do nothing. Veemon shrugged uncertainly, "I don't know, maybe? Do you have any more digieggs lying around? It'd be nice if I didn't have to walk everywhere."

Davis threw up his arms in frustration, "I don't believe this, I'm stuck while Kari is out there fighting the bad guy."

"Okay, we really need to address your fascination with Kari at some point," Cody mumbled to himself quietly. However, he was just as distressed at being useless without a digimon partner who could fly.

* * *

TK and Pegasusmon led the charge straight at Kimeramon, opening the attack with Nefertimon and their Golden Noose. They used the chain of light paired between them to drag Kimeramon straight into the ocean, slamming it onto the water's surface and holding it there as began thrashing to breath air. This left it defenseless as both Lillymon and Halsemon began a barrage, "Flower Cannon!"

"Mach Impuse!"

The strikes hit Kimeramon in the chest, but failed to faze the digimon. It began to rise out of the water, howling at the digidestined for daring to fight him. In the end, both Nefertimon and Pegasusmon had to break the golden noose to join the offensive. They put a good distance between themselves and raging monstrosity before eventually joining the attack, "Star Shower!"

"Rosetta Stone!"

"Flower Cannon!"

"Mach Impulse!"

The attacks hit their mark again, but did little to slow the abomination's rise from the sea. It opened its out mouth and spat green fire at them, "Heat Viper!"

The four flying digimon moved out of its path but could feel the heat from this distance. They were able to witness the attack punch a hole through the Ancient ship and spread fire along its surface much faster. Yolei gasped out, "What do we have to do to keep this digimon down?"

"We're going to have to kill it," TK said flatly, "That's the only way."

"Kill it? TK, what the hell!?" Yolei's disbelief at the many things she did not expect today, "That digimon is still a living thing!"

"That just turned on its on creator," TK countered, "So if the Emperor can't control, who can? We're better off putting it down than letting it live."

"That's...really messed up," Yolei frowned. To her surprise, her partner agreed with TK's assessment and stated, "We may have to. It's the only way to be sure that Kimeramon doesn't harm anyone else."

"Not you too Halsemon," Yolei noted with apprehension. A sound of thunder above reminded them that the ship was still collapsing under its own weight now that the flames had eaten away at the structure. They scattered to get out from under it as the first pieces began to fall away, crashing all around them in plumes of smoked. Kimeramon sensed the incoming danger and spewed more fire at the burning wreckage coming towards him, blasting it apart in a desperate attempt to avoid being crushed beneath the wreckage and the seas. With each blast, the ship crumbled more and more but it did little to remedy the fact that it was still in one piece and falling upon them. It crashed on to Kimeramon and pushed it all the way to the ocean. The water boiled from the burning wreckage that continued to drag Kimeramon under water. At least, until another blast of fire erupted out from beneath the surface and scattered the digidestined.

Mimi complained, "A ship hit him! A ship! It fell on him and he's still moving. What's with this digimon?"

"I told you, Kimeramon is my ultimate weapon. Or was," the Emperor answered, appearing beside them upon his partner's back, "He was designed to be able to take a beating. It will take more than dropping a ship on him to put him down."

"Then what will it take?" TK demanded, "You have to have made some way to control him."

"He was designed to be be under my control," the Emperor frowned, "One hundred percent obedience. Damn beast, I CREATED YOU!"

"Uh, my Emperor. It's coming at us," Stingmon pointed out Kimeramon rising from beneath the waves again. Its massive size did little to hinder its speed and it rushed them without any sign of slowing down. The digidestined and their digimon swerved out of his path and watched it continue forward into the horizon.

"Where's it going?" Mimi asked, "We're right here."

The Emperor clutched at his head as he answered, "It's going to...no, it can't."

"What's going on with you, Emperor? You're acting crazy," Mimi rolled her eyes in disapproval. The Emperor answered, "It's sentient. It's talking. It has a plan. It can do what it's planning on doing. I have to stop it from reaching the Lazarus Temple!"

"Hold on Ichijouji!" TK shouted, maneuvering his partner in front of the Emperor to leer at him and his partner , "We're not going anywhere until you tell us what the hell is going on! Why is that thing going to the Lazarus Temple and how did you lose control of something you just made?"

"And where is Tai!?" Kari added angrily. The Emperor frowned, "In no particular order: I neither know nor care, because it's capable of self aware thought when it shouldn't be, and what else would anything do at the temple? If it wanted to, it could resurrect an army of some of the worst things imaginable!"

"So what? Isn't that exactly the thing you were going to do?" TK asked, "That temple sounds like nothing but trouble."

"You morons don't understand. That was never my...never mind. We'll stop it ourselves," the Emperor snapped, patting his partner on the head to signal that they had to leave. They took off again before anyone could get a word in edgewise, just as realization dawned on Yolei, "Hey um...guys. Isn't ShogunGekomon's Village that way?"

"Yes, why do you...oh no," Halsemon paused halfway through as he answered his own question. They all came to the same realization and Mimi gasped, "We have to stop him! Lillymon! We have to hurry!"

"I know Mimi. We'll do our best," her partner assured her, "We'll stop him no matter what it takes."

* * *

"You can't stop me Ken Ichijoui. No matter what you believe. You made me to be unstoppable. You thought you could play the role that The Digimon Tamer carries. That you could shape destiny to your machinations to create a perfect world. A world where an eight year old child doesn't have to watch his older brother die because of the world's own indifference. That's why you do all this isn't it? It's why you tried to become the Emperor of this world. You thought you could take its madness. But in this world - the weak die so that the strong may live. It is as simple as that. The question remains - are you weak or strong?"

"Shut up," the Emperor said aloud, worrying his partner at the unwarranted command, "Emperor. What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," the Emperor mumbled, failing to ease his partner of any worries he had, "Just nervous."

"Emperor. No, Ken. You didn't know. You couldn't have known. Don't worry. We'll put him down," Stingmon replied, thinking only of helping his partner. The Emperor tightened his fist, angered at the sympathy. It didn't matter if he didn't know. He should have known. That was entirely the problem. But there was another thing that angered, "I said don't call me that name."

"It's the name your parents gave you Ken," Stingmon replied stoically, "You shouldn't throw it away. You may call yourself Emperor, but you are still Ken."

The voice chose that exact moment to begin mocking again, "That's right Ken. You shouldn't be afraid to admit what we've always known - you're a scared little boy playing a role you're not ready for. That you could never live up to in your wildest dreams. It's been nothing but delusions of grandeur."

Ken grit his teeth again and grunted, "Shut up."

Stingmon must've assumed he was talking to him as he fell silent again. All the Emperor could do was offer a simple apology, "I'm sorry Stingmon."

* * *

As the rest of their group took off after the Emperor and Stingmon, Davis took one last glance at the remains of the ship sinking beneath the waves. The soft glow of fire was slowly disappearing into darkness but a small glimmer of light caught his attention - a soft pink glow slowly being consumed by the dark. Davis squinted to make sure he wasn't imagining it but it was definitely there - faint but there.

"We should go after the others," Izzy stated to MegaKabuterimon, "They'll need all the help they can get."

"Hey, hold on a sec," Davis said, still peering into the water at the shimmering pink light. Against his better wishes, he found it impossible to ignore its call as it drew him into the water with it. He would have jumped off MegaKabuterimon if Veemon didn't grab hold, "Wait Davish! What are you doing!? Thish ish a bad time for a shwim!"

"You guys don't see that?" Davis pointed into the water, "There's something down there."

"All I see is the sinking ship," Betamon stated, peering over the edge into the water. Davis pointed straight at the disappearing pink light, "Down there! Hey Cody, Armadillomon, can you check it out?"

"Us? I suppose so," Armadillomon nodded, "What do ya think Cody?"

"It's a worth a look to see if the Emperor had anything on that ship that could help us," Cody's answer seemed surprisingly meditated. He raised his digivice, "DigiArmor Energize!"

"Armadillomon! Armor Digivolve to! Submarimon, Reliable Guardian of the Seas!"

Cody climbed into his partner's cockpit and dropped down into the ocean below. As soon as they crashed, Cody submerged the digimon straight down and scanned the sinking wreckage in search of whatever Davis had seen. He looked up once at the surface to see MegaKabuterimon shimmering through the waves above, "What do you suppose Davis saw?"

"No idea, but he wanted to stay behind instead of going after Kari. You know it has to be important," Submarimon replied, a fact that Cody had to agree with. That boy was as easy to read as an open book. They continued diving, keeping their distance from the burning scrap metal all around them and following any glimmers of light in the burning wreck. It didn't take long for a single pink light to get their attention, and Cody maneuvered closer towards it.

In the center of all the burning wreckage and debris was a particularly blackened piece of metal that glinted pink light. Upon laying eyes on it, Cody understood why Davis was so fixated by it. The light was inviting and he couldn't help but try to take it. It took care and precision, but he was able to maneuver his partner's larger body directly underneath the hunk of metal. The ascent took even greater care, as he had to carefully balance the metal on the glass otherwise he risked breaking it and flooding the entire cockpit - a chilling thought. Once they broke the surface, Cody opened the glass and reached for the charred metal. Upon seeing them, MegaKabuterimon descended to just above the water so the others could see. Cody waved at them, "I found this thing, Davis."

"That's it! That's what I saw," Davis said, reaching for it and turning the charred piece of metal over in his hand, "What do you think it is?"

He turned it over in his hands and noticed the charred metal smudging beneath his gloved fingers, revealing a golden body that shimmered brilliantly. Everyone else was just as curious now and peered over his shoulder as he started wiping the char and soot away with his sleeve. It took some elbow grease to reveal the glimmering gold underneath and a pink symbol that vaguely resembled the one on the Emperor's goggles - an M with three prongs at its feet to resemble a foot print. He turned it over gently as he continued wiping, revealing its boxy shape and stated, "It's like a digiegg."

"A digiegg. You don't suppose that's supposed to be the Emperor's digiegg is it?" Cody asked.

"Wonder why he never used it before," Submarimon pondered. Izzy mused aloud, "The inside of the ship was dark - which meant he probably never figured out the lights. It's not a stretch to think that maybe he had no idea the digiegg was even on the ship. But that raises another question - who's egg is it?"

"It'sh gotta be Kari'sh or TK'sh," Veemon stated, "The resht of ush already have two digieggsh!"

"Well, there's a really easy way to find out," Davis said, "Let's hurry and catch up to them."

* * *

Starmon patrolled the perimeter of the wall quietly with an accompaniment of Agumon and Gekomon, making sure there were no signs of danger to its integrity. This wall stood as the only separation between order and chaos - peace and war. The Gekomon and Otamamon stood guard atop the walls, occasionally scanning the surrounding areas for signs of danger - although most days they just had to worry about any trouble makers in the refugee camps. The refugee camps that had settled outside the village were becoming difficult to manage as it made life harder for any supplies to get through the walls. In fact, roving groups of rogue digimon had been hiding within the camps to steal supplies wherever they could, requiring more regular patrols from the guard and more digimon protecting traders. Which meant less digimon to stand at the walls, more regular work hours for the over extended guard, and more fatigued digimon.

Starmon wasn't sure what the digidestined thought they were doing by allowing so many digimon to flee here, but his patience with them was growing thin. And he was glad they weren't around, otherwise he would have to go and give them a piece of his own mind. The number of times he'd nearly lost patience with them was matched only by his desire to see order brought before things.

He was pulled from his thoughts by a loud roar from the coastline, which awoke his attention and had him hurrying for the walls of the village, "What in tarnation was that noise?"

"Starmon! Sir!" an Agumon shouted from the walls, gesturing out towards the wall that faced the seas, "Something's coming! We have a whole bunch of whatever it is coming our way!"

"Boy, what are you on?" Starmon asked, making his way to the nearest stairs and climbing the wall to see what exactly this Agumon was looking at. Just coming over the horizon, they could vaguely make out a large shadowy figure whose outline indicated something like a dragon. He reached out his hand to one of the nearest Agumon, "Hand me a telescope. I have no idea what we're looking at o'er there."

The Agumon gave an awkward salute before fetching a telescope for the star digimon to use. A quick examination of the shadow on the horizon revealed some unholy mismash of different digimon flying towards them, followed by what looked like a disrobed Digimon Emperor atop Stingmon. Some distance behind them were the digidestined, possibly pursuing the Emperor and whatever the abominable monster before them was.

"Battle stations," Starmon commanded of his troops, "The Emperor is coming!"

That declaration alone caused a brief murmur among the guard until Starmon repeated himself, "What are ya'll doin'? Get to your posts! Seal the gates! No one gets into the city! Prepare for a siege boys!"

The guard scattered to their various duties: some lining the walls with their weapons ready while others started ringing the alarm bells to let everyone know to take shelter in their homes. At the sound of the bells, digimon quickly cleared the streets and began locking themselves in their homes. As expected, once the alarms rang - digimon in the refugee camps outside the wall tried to make their way inside, only to be blocked by the guards at the gate. A few tried forcing their way through but the Agumon were keen to keep them outside.

Starmon opted not to watch the chaos unfold, instead joining the unit assembling on the sea wall to face the impending attack. With any luck, some of the more annoying digidestined would be destroyed in the defense and he wouldn't have to worry about them anymore.

The Agumon were assembled here along with some of the Gekomon. The Agumon's attacks had a much longer ranger than the Gekomon but the Gekomon's attack spread out wider, which meant they would be held in reserve until the Emperor was closer. He watched the target carefully with the telescope, trying to time the distance right so that they didn't have time to react before giving the order, "Agumon! One round!"

"Pepper Breath!"

A chorus of shouts signaled a hail of fire from the little orange dinosaurs - straight at the target. Some came close to hitting their mark but others flew wide. The display did little to slow the target down so he shouted again, "Agumon! Second Round! Fire!"

Another chorus sang to rain fire upon the target. The target didn't slow down instead, drawing closer towards the wall. Starmon began to feel a little unnerved and gave the order, "All units! Open fire!"

"Symphony Crusher!'

"Pepper Breath!"

The dueling screams shouted at each other as the air filled with noise and fire. Still the attacker drew closer towards the wall without any sign of slowing down. He closed his eyes and prepared himself for what he knew he had to do, stretching out his arms towards the sky and bellowing out, "Meteor Shower!"

The sky cracked open and meteors fell from the sky, raining down to strike his target.

* * *

"Why are they shooting at us!?" Yolei panicked, tightening her grip on Halsemon to keep herself on. All of their partners ducked and weaved through the hail of fire that rain all around them, attacks coming from ShogunGekomon's palace.

Pegasusmon gasped as he answered, "They're not! They're shooting at Kimeramon! We're just the unlucky idiots standing behind him!"

"Oh thanks, that makes me feel so much better," Yolei whined, "Get us out of here!"

"We can't let up with Kimeramon on his way towards the Village! We have to stop him now!" Mimi shouted. Lillymon called her attention forward, "Guys! Look! Something's happening!"

Their group looked ahead at the village to witness a display of fiery meteors raining down from the heavens right at them. Halsemon cried out, "Scatter!"

And they ducked and weaved to avoid being struck by the burning stones as it came down all around them. Yolei asked, "What is this? Why is the sky falling on us!?"

"The traitor maybe?" Nefertimon wondered. TK shook his head in disagreement, "Or they're getting desperate to defend their village. It's about time they did something but why are they doing it when we're in front of them?"

"It must be that traitor!" Yolei said, "The one who's working for the Emperor! He must've done this!"

Mimi called out to the others, "Let's worry about that later! Right now, let's just focus on stopping Kimeramon before he destroys the village!"

"She's right," Lillymon declared, "Let's go!"


	15. The Golden Radiance

Kimeramon held nothing back as he rained fire and death upon the village below. The walls meant to protect the villagers had now become a prison. The village guard made a critical mistake in sealing the gates, preventing hundreds from fleeing the inferno and left many more to burn under the blazing heat. It was this chaos that stirred ShogunGekomon into action from his sleepy castle and led him to stand against the monster raining death upon his kingdom and his people. The partners of the original digidestined followed him out of the castle and into the burning village, where they hurried to do anything they could to help - Gabumon, Biyomon, and Gomamon. This left the orange amphibian alone against the airborne attacker and began his own counter attack, "Musical Fist!"

The concussion of sound from his horns disrupted Kimeramon's flight and brought its attention upon the shogun. He roared so loudly and so disgustingly that ShogunGekomon took a step back and covered his ears to silence the deafening screech. Unfortunately, it left him open for Kimeramon to swoop down and slam him against the ground. Kimeramon hissed directly in his face to further intimidate him but ShogunGekomon knew an advantage when he had one. At this range, there was little Kimeramon could do against a sudden attack, "Musical Fist!"

The sound reverberated inside Kimeramon's skull, pushing him off the pinned Ultimate and giving ShogunGekomon an opening to rush the monster, "Leave my people alone!"

Kimeramon growled in defiance. ShogunGekomon pushed it through buildings, scarcely noticing that the digidestined and their digimon were busy trying to save as many lives as they could while he kept the beast distracted. It also meant, he didn't notice the Emperor or Stingmon fly past him to strike Kimeramon in the chest. ShogunGekomon was taken aback by the surprise display, unsure of what to make of the Emperor attacking this beast he had unleashed upon the city. Nor did he understand why the monster slapped the emperor away like a fly.

Were it not for the beast actively destroying his city, he would have considered joining its side - the old adage did say 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend.' However, it was this monster who was destroying his people, not the Emperor - which made Kimeramon the greater concern. With speed that would mislead about his size, ShogunGekomon leapt into the air and landed atop Kimeramon to pin him to the ground. It gnashed its teeth again, while ShogunGekomon prayed his next attack could end this quickly. Unfortunately, Kimeramon was faster and spewed fire onto him, "Heat Viper!"

The heat scorched ShogunGekomon's face and he leapt off the beat to cover his burnt face. With his eyes closed, the leader of the village lost any sense of his surroundings. But he still felt the large force strike in the back of the head as the world slipped into darkness.

* * *

Lillymon moved swiftly through the burning village, grabbing anyone within reach and carrying them to safety. She could hear Mimi overhead, pointing out more digimon who needed rescuing but there was little that she could do on her own. The other digidestined swept through other parts of the village to carry as many as they could to safety but the effort was lost with their partners still riding their backs.

As she scanned the burning village, she could hear screams of terror from within many of the burning buildings - digimon who'd hidden inside their homes only to be trapped by the ensuing blaze. But one voice caught her attention - a young voice within a burning multi story home. Lillymon turned in the air and crashed through the glass windows on the second story, calling out to anyone, "Hello! Is anyone here!?"

"HELP!" someone screamed from one of the rooms, "Help us!"

Although the flames were beginning to eat away at her flowery dress, she pushed on into the fire and smoke in search of whoever was trapped inside this inferno. The pleas for help guided her until she managed to find a small room where an Otamamon and Gotsumon had become trapped behind a burning cabinet. Lillymon looked around for anything to put out the blaze but found nothing nearby. So she reached out to the poor digimon, "Listen to me! You'll have to jump through the fire!"

"I can't! It's too hot," the Otamamon whimpered, cowering away when part of the ceiling collapsed. The Gotsumon appeared just as terrified, but still ran head first with its eye closed. The moment it leapt through the fire, a piece of burning ceiling collapsed from above and fell onto it - crushing it beneath lumber and fire. The Otamamon would be terrified after that but she reached out her arms again, "You can do it! If you don't, you'll be stuck here!"

The Otamamon closed their eyes, terrified but not wanting to stay and burn or suffer the fate of its friend. The little digimon ran at full speed towards the door and leapt through into Lillymon's arms, "Caught you! Now let's get out of here!"

She hurried back out the window she flew through, just in time to hear the burning building groan and collapse under its weight, consumed by the flames. The streets were still a chaotic and unpredictable mess, only now her attention was pulled towards a gate on the far side of the village.

A crowd of digimon had gathered at the gate to flee the inferno, only to find it sealed and ablaze. Several of the guards - Agumon and Gekomon - were trying to put out the fire with buckets of water but were only managing to douse the fire briefly before the heat reignited it. Lillymon landed in the center of the crowd and released the Otamamon, "What's going on! Why was the gate closed?"

"We closed it to keep the Emperor out. We didn't expect he'd just burn everything to the ground!" one of the Agumon explained. Lillymon went to the front of the crowd and aimed her cannon at the burning gate, "Okay, make some room. Flower Cannon!"

She fired several blasts to blow the gate apart, scattering splinters and dust around them. The wall creaked briefly as it now had to support its own weight but still held. There was no time to waste and Lillymon urged them to go before the wall gave in, "Go! Before the fire spreads!"

The digimon panicked and raced out of the burning village out into the refugee camps outside for safety. There was nothing else she could do here and Lillymon was certain there were other gates that needed to be opened. She took to the skies once more to open the rest.

* * *

The guard digimon who were still on the walls took shots at Kimeramon and the Emperor as they flew across the skies. They cheered whenever one of the digidestined managed to hit the monstrous digimon before rejoining the attack.

There was only one exception - the digimon upon the wall that faced the sea were busy fighting with Starmon in retaliation for the attack he'd orchestrated upon the digidestined. Gekomon, Otamamon, and Agumon piled upon the star, trying their best to keep him on the ground while demanding, "Why Starmon!? Why did you attack the digidestined!?"

Starmon was notably silent as he kicked each digimon off one at at time, taking great joy in the pain he inflicted upon these traitors. He took the time to quietly dust himself off while calmly explaining, "My duty is to the law and order of the Digital World. That's why security is mah specialty. And those humans brought that monster here!"

"Security? You attacked the digidestined! They're here to help us!" one of the Otamamon pointed out. Starmon stepped over the accusing Otamamon, keeping his feet low to the ground so that he also managed to kick it while moving along, "Good riddance is what I think. The world needs order and those digidestined have done nothing but bring panic to it. They can't even do what they're told. They were told to leave the Emperor be and not to bring him to the village. And what did they do? They brought him and that thing to the village!"

"But why? Why would you go through all the trouble of helping us if you were just going to turn on the digidestined the first chance you got?" a Gekomon pointed out the glaring hole in his reasoning. Starmon chuckled to himself and continued walking, "Well, to be honest, I'm wondering why any of you are stickin' up for 'em when they're the ones who caused all this. If anythin', ya'll should be on my side!"

"The digidestined will stop you!" an Agumon declared, a thought that made Starmon laugh, "Stop me? They can't even stop the Emperor!"

He pointed out the monster again as it swatted one of the digidestined away into a nearby building. The building collapsed into rubble, releasing smoke and dust into the blackening skies. Kimeramon roared again before moving on, which Starmon decided was his cue to leave - there was no point in standing by doing nothing. Which was just as well since he saw the partners of the first digidestined run past - Gabumon, Biyomon, and Gomamon beside Ogremon and Wizardmon. Sometimes the Digital World was painfully annoying to him. But this time, it was surprisingly kind and he intended to pay that kindness forward by exterminating some pests. He hurried after them, arriving at the central plaza where they had gathered a large number of Otamamon together. Biyomon explained to them, "If you guys all use your water attacks together, we might be able to put the fires out and save this part of the village."

"But the fire's too hot!" one Otamamon pointed out until Gabumon added, "It is. But it can be done if you guys work together! Team work is everything!"

"I don't know," another Otamamon cast their gaze downwards until they noticed Starmon's shadow against the flames. The Otamamon perked up on seeing him, "Starmon! You'll help us!"

One even ran towards him until he stomped on its head and pressed down to crush it. The Otamamon's eyes bulged and it let out a gasp, "Starmon! What are you-"

"Friends of the digidestined ain't a friend o' mine," he said. It took one hard press to crush it under his foot, terrifying the other Otamamon and alarming the original digidestined's partners. Gomamon leapt forward and shouted, "Starmon! What the hell are you doing!?"

"Taking some of the problems out of this chaotic world and makin' it a lil' more orderly, ya hear?" Starmon answered, cracking his knuckles together. The Otamamon backed away, leaving only Ogremon to stand against the head of the village's security, "Oh, I get it. You're that traitor everyone's worked up about."

"Oh, I ain't a traitor," Starmon raised his arms up in a half shrug, "I'm just doin' my duty as an enforcer of the law and order in these parts of the world. And if ya'll ask me, you digidestined are the ones causing all the problems. I mean just look at what they did! They brought a monster down on us!As far as I'm concerned, you're guilty of aidin' and abettin' for helping those humans!"

"I'm goin' to enjoy wipe that smug smile off your face," Ogremon growled, slamming his club against the ground in a show of force. Starmon raised a confused eyebrow, "What on earth are you talkin' about? I don't have a smile on my face. I don't have a mouth!"

"You're happy! That's just as bad!" Ogremon countered.

"You're happy too!" Starmon pointed out. The ogre slammed his club on the ground again, "Because I'm going to pummel your arrogant a-"

"Okay, Ogremon. Stop trying to make a one-liner. None of them are working," Gabumon sighed from the back, "And they're...really painful to hear."

* * *

Pegasusmon circled around Kimeramon, looking for another opening as it swatted at Nefertimon and Halsemon. Hundreds of digimon scrambled away from beneath them for safety away from the figting. TK pointed them out to his partner, "Give them some cover Pegasusmon! We can't just leave them down there!"

Pegasusmon complied and dove into one of Kimeramon's legs to kick it out from underneath him, leaving him unbalanced for Stingmon to smash down on him from above. The large monster fell once more upon several buildings, further enraging the beast. It spat more fire at them to scare them off, "Heat Viper!"

The green flames just barely missed them, singing the hair on their necks as they scattered away from. Nefertimon circled around him from above, "He's not going down and this fight is destroying the village! We need to get him out of here! Pegasusmon!"

"I know," the flying horse stated, already lining up with her in the air. On Yolei's insistence, Halsemon flew just behind them and awaited them to make their move. Kimeramon scrambled back onto its feet and hissed at them to come again, its gaping maw wide open.

"Golden noose!" Nefertimon and Pegasusmon crossed paths in the air to create a chain of golden light that they used to drag Kimeramon out of the city- straight towards the ocean. Yolei patted her partner and Halsemon dashed forward with all his might to ram Kimeramon in the chest. It hissed at them and easily broke the noose, swinging its many arms wildly at the flying digimon before launching back into the skies. They broke away from each other, hoping to confuse it by providing too many targets for it to chase. Their plot did confuse it but only enraged it into spitting fire down onto the village below.

"Pegasusmon! We need to stop him!" TK shouted at the top of his lungs, urging his partner to go on the offensive again. However, the Emperor and Stingmon were already ahead of him on that plan. They rammed the digimon head on to get its attention so that it would listen, "Kimeramon! I order you to stop at once! I am your Emperor! Obey me!"

Kimeramon swung a fist but Stingmon maneuvered out of the way before moving to a position just above his head. The Emperor chose that moment to leap back onto his skull and used his whip to lasso the monster's mouth shut, "I am your Emperor! Obey me!"

Kimeramon reached for him again with its arms but was swatted away by Stingmon, "My Emperor. We need to move this fight away from the village. We're too close to it."

"Can you make a note of it and file it under 'shit I already know'!?" the Emperor snapped angrily, tightening his hold on the raging monster, "Kimeramon! Obey me! I am your Emperor!"

Kimeramon flailed wildly to shake the Emperor of his head, but the boy held on thanks to his whip. When shaking the boy off didn't work, Kimeramon dove towards the ground head first - planning on either giving the boy a reason to get off or to flatten him against the ground. Despite the high speed, the Emperor stayed latched onto Kimeramon's head, "Do you hear me? OBEY ME!"

Stingmon was right behind the two, trying to close the gap and catch his partner before he was flattened - but he knew he wouldn't be able to grab hold of the Emperor in time unless he let go. The Emperor was simply too stubborn to jump off despite the danger, so Stingmon tried to reason with him, "KEN! LET GO! HE'LL CRUSH YOU!"

"Not before I make him obey!" the Emperor shouted, "Kimeramon! Do as I command! Proceed to the tem-"

Lillymon dashed in from the side and grabbed him by the collar of his blue clothes, snatching him off the rampaging monster before it slammed head first into the ground. The Emperor wriggled under Lillymon's arms, "What are you doing!? Let me go!"

"I just saved your life! The least you could do is say thank you," Lillymon said back, stopping in the air only when Stingmon confronted her, "Let the Emperor go!"

They were joined by Yolei atop Halsemon who were quick to berate him, "Get over it. We already know he's Ken! Let's just call him by his name!"

"DON'T call me that," the Emperor spat at her, "You will refer to me as your lord and Empe-"

He was stopped when Lillymon let go with one of her hands, dropping him so that she held him only with one, "If you don't knock it off I will seriously drop you."

The Emperor smirked at her and reached for his digivice, "Oh, I wouldn't worry about me. Stingmon. Escape Plan Omega Delta 3. Execute in three-"

"What's he doing?" Mimi asked as she joined them with TK and Pegasusmon.

"-Two-"

"I don't know, but I don't like it. Don't let him go Lillymon!" Yolei shouted.

"One!" A black light flashed from the Emperor's digivice, wrapping around Lillymon and forcing her to let go, "AH!"

"Lillymon!" Mimi called out in a panic as she disappeared into the black, screaming out in what could only have been unimaginable pain before the light faded away to reveal Palmon. Palmon waved her aims helplessly in a meaningless gesture to stay airborne before she fell along with the Emperor. Mimi reached out her hand to her partner, "PALMON!"

"We'll get her!" Halsemon said, diving down towards the falling plant digimon and the Emperor. Stingmon joined them but was far faster than Halsemon, grabbing Emperor and Palmon in one swift motion before zooming away. Stingmon turned in the air to face them, "Plan executed."

"Good job Stingmon," the Emperor said, adjusting himself to face them, "Okay digidestined. Shut up and listen or your plant friend here is going to have a tumble into one of the open flames below."

The digidestined hovered in the air just in front of the Emperor, worried that he actually would throw her into one of the fires. The Emperor cleared his throat, "Here's the deal. I'll give you your partner back on the condition that you help me get Kimeramon under control. Not destroy him! Just under control."

"Yeah, we were already trying to stop him genius," Mimi spat out at him, only to be silenced when Stingmon let Palmon slip a little. The Emperor repeated, "Like I said - we're going to get him under control. We're not going to destroy him, like you were. We're going to restrain him. Understood?"

TK looked over his shoulder once at Mimi, then towards Yolei and Halsemon. He asked, "What do you guys say?"

Mimi was the first to respond, "We'll help. But you give Palmon back right now!"

"Mimi-" Yolei began only to be cut off by the older girl, "Yolei. I'm not going to let anyone else get hurt because of me. We'll help you get him under control. But you'd better leave as soon as we're done. Got it?"

"Don't worry about me," the Emperor frowned, "I don't want to be here any more than you want me here."

TK looked over at Kari, uncertain of the truce they'd just made and wondering how long it would last before the Emperor tried to betray them. But the safety of the village was the priority now and if the Emperor would take it away, then he didn't care what they had to do to get there. He asked, "Okay, so what's the plan? How do we get Kimeramon under control?"

"There are no control spires here for me to use. If we lure him to an area where there are some, I can apply some dark rings to him and put him back under control," the Emperor stated, making TK's concern all the more valid, "No way. How do we know that you won't try and put dark rings on our digimon too?"

"Oh for the love of...do I look like I want your digimon?" the Emperor's eyes narrowed in disblief until Yolei pointed out, "You tied us up and made Davis beg to set us set free."

"Uh, guys, Kimeramon's moving again," Nefertimon pointed out for them. They glanced down to see Kimeramon slowly pick himself up from his head first collision with the ground, taking time to steady himself. The Emperor clicked his tongue, "Okay. What would Tamer and Agumon do? What would Tamer and Agumon do? We need to be unpredictable. Kimeramon isn't completely mindless. It should have base urges and needs."

"Sorry, did you just ask what would Tamer and Agumon do?" Nefertimon asked. The Emperor nodded, still staring at Kimeramon, "Yes. There's a reason those two have their reputation. They would...oh my god, I hope this doesn't work. I mean I do but...dammit, Stingmon! Get in front of it!"

"Hey! Give Palmon back first!" Mimi snapped only to be surprised when Stingmon actually threw the rookie digimon at her. Palmon used her vines to wrap around Mimi, slightly pulling the girl and leading to Pegasusmon slouching in the air before she pulled herself up. Mimi threw her arms around her partner once she was safely beside her, begging that she not get herself in danger again.

"What's the plan?" TK asked just before Stingmon took off, leaving them wondering what exactly he'd been thinking. Stingmon stopped just in front of Kimeramon, and held the Emperor out in front of him, "Hey! Kimeramon! Look at me! I bet you can't destroy me! Hit me! HIT ME!"

"What are you doing?" Yolei's mouth fell open in disbelief at the stupidity on display. Pegasusmon and Nefertimon would've joined their partners in face palming if they could, recalling a similar action from the past. His shouting drew Kimeramon's attention and he began to follow the Emperor. Nefertimon shook her head, "It was bad enough with TK and Davis. Now we have the Emperor acting like Tamer. We're reaching a number of Tamer like behavior that shouldn't ever be normal."

Halsemon turned his head sideways before asking, "So, just to be clear, are we helping by making ourselves targets too or are we just sitting back and watching?"

We're helping!" Yolei shouted, pushing hard on Halsemon so that he went down into a dive, "Yolei! What are we doing?"

"We're helping him out! That's what we're doing," Yolei shouted, piloting Halsemon against his will so that they dove right in front of Kimeramon to get his attention, "Hey! Creepazoid! Over here!"

Kimeramon turned his head to face her and hissed, "Heat Viper!"

Halsemon wrested control back from Yolei so that he could dodge the attack. Once he was clear, he changed directions and started turning to the edge of the village. Mimi groaned, "Not Yolei too. She seemed so nice, I didn't think she'd pull a Tamer."

"Well, it's working out for them so why not?" Palmon pointed out to the others as Kimeramon slammed into another building trying to chase Halsemon, "Who can argue with that?"

* * *

Starmon and Ogremon traded blows several times but neither was able to beat the other down. To Ogremon's pleasure and Starmon's annoyance, the onlooking digimon cheered them on and one of the older digidestined's partners would step in occasion. As rookies, there wasn't much any of them could do physically against the stronger champion. However, positioning themselves behind him so that he stumbled or throwing something at his blindspot did distract him enough to throw the stalemate in Ogremon's favor. Their harassment drove Starmon to retreat away so he could fight Ogremon on more favorable terms, only to realize that there was nowhere he could run in this fight.

Just as he got onto one of the side streets, the annoying wizard appeared in front of him. On instinct, Starmon raised his fist to punch the wizard, aiming for square between his eyes. The moment they touched though, Starmon felt a sudden sickness in his stomach and found himself standing back in the plaza with the wizard retreating to safety beside the other digimon. Ogremon greeted him by leaping into the air, with the club raised over his head, "WELCOME BACK!"

Starmon raised up his arms to brace himself for the impact and felt the full weight of Ogremon in the blow. Starmon used that momentum to dig into the ground beneath his feet and forced Ogremon over him into a roll, "GET OFF VARMINT!"

Just as he readied for another bout, he heard the sound of wings beating rapidly overhead and looked up.

* * *

MegaKabuterimon hovered just some distance away from the burning village so that they could get an idea of what's going on. Kimeramon was in the middle of pursuing the others along with the Emperor and Stingmon away from the village while the fires raged. Davis was focused entirely on Kimeramon and the risk this put Kari in during the fight. Once Kimeramon was away, he hurried in to help but was stopped by Cody.

"I think they have it under control," Cody observed of the others, "We should probably help out with the fire down there first."

"Wait, look!" Michael said pointing out what looked like Starmon fighting several digimon on his own - including Ogremon, Wizardmon, and their old friends. Upon seeing Starmon punch Ogremon into a nearby building, MegaKabuterimon decided now was the time to step in and dove straight down into the thick of the battle while everyone else held on for dear life. He announced his presence by landing in front of the star, "What's going on here? Starmon! Why are you fighting our friends?"

Wizardmon appeared beside them with a gust of wind, "It's Starmon. He's the spy."

"I feel like that was too obvious," Izzy scratched his head in disbelief. Starmon retreated some distance away from them and growled, "That's because I'm not the spy! But I am taking care of the problem by putting you digidestined in your place! METEOR SHOWER!"

He raised his arms over his head and they heard the sound of thunder above them. They looked up in time to see meteors rain down on them from the heavens like before. MegaKabuterimon threw himself up into his side and moved to defend them, "Get under me!"

He set Andromon on the ground and raised out his arms to defend the others, taking most of the blows with his back. Ogremon was the only one to not hide under the giant big, preferring to swing away at the meteors with his club like an athelete. With each impact, MegaKabuterimon screamed in pain and his partner reasoned with him to get out of there. As the last meteor hit, MegaKabuterimon regressed to Tentomon and collapsed to the ground.

Izzy leaned over his partner, holding the little bug in his arms while Starmon mocked them, "Ha, that's what you get ya idiots. Now why don't you do ya'll selves a favor and just give up? Don't you think that if I wanted to, this fight would be over already?"

"I think you're stalling!" Ogremon growled, running in again with his bone club raised over his head. He traded several blows with Starmon, until the ogre's legs were swept out from under him by the star, "I said give up! What part of that ain't you understandin'?"

Davis held out his digivice and shouted, "We'd better get in there Veemon. DigiArmor Energize!"

"You too Armadillomon!" Cody joined in, holding out his own digivive, "DigiArmor Energize!"

"Veemon! Armor Digivolve to! Flamedramon, the Fire of Courage!"

"Armadillomon! Armor Digivolve to! Digmon, the Drill of Knowledge!"

The two champion digimon squared off against Starmon in place of Ogremon, immediately going on the offensive to keep their opponent on his toes. They held an advantage by not being as exhausted as the star digimon, but weren't as fresh as they could've been. The fight drew itself into a stalemate with no digimon able to gain an advantange over another. Starmon tried to create some distance but Flamedramon always closed the gap. Digmon tried to steer his movements so that he couldn't flee by digging trenches and blanketing the area with missile attacks. As Starmon continued moving around the field, one thing they didn't expect was for him to use the burning village to his advantage, ducking inside a building for cover. Both Flamedramon and Digmon began hammering the building with their ranged attacks, blowing it apart with each strike.

"Fire Rocket!"

"Gold Rush!"

After a few attacks, they heard the old structure creak and groan before finally collapsing into a pile of burning rubble. Both champions breathed a sigh of relief at the idea of a finished fight until Starmon emerged from another building and took Betamon as a hostage, "You all better back up now or the little digimon gets it!"

Flamedramon and Digmon were quick to encircle the digimon to make sure he didn't escape and warned, "Let him go Starmon!"

"Betamon!" Michael gasped out, hurrying to his partner only to be stopped by Cody, "Michael, wait!"

"Betamon needs help!" Michael said out, "I help him!"

"No you don't!" Starmon berated the boy with a wagged finger, "One step closer and I'll choke the lil' fella's lights out."

"Betamon!" Michael called out to his partner again. Betamon's face bulged and he choked out, "Michael!"

"Let him go!" Michael shouted, eyes closed in fear for his partner's safety. He only opened it when he heard his digivice whistle and come to life with light. The light leapt to his partner and surprised Starmon into letting the little digimon go. With a loud voice, the little toad croaked out, "Betamon! Digivolve to! Seadramon!"

Starmon was pushed aside by the sudden expanse of size; Betamon expanded into a long slender blue body with fins instead of limbs. His head crowned in a large gold plated head with fins and whose mouth had enough teeth to tear steel in half. Starmon panicked and fled from the serpent digimon until he howled, "ICE BLAST!"

A spray of ice shot out of his mouth and traced a path towards Starmon, freezing him in place until he was buried up to his eyes. The serpent hissed again before spewing out the frozen ice onto the blazing village around them. Michael gaped in awe and said something they didn't understand before asking, "What is? Where Betamon?"

"That's Betamon now," Izzy assured him with a friendly nod, "He digivolved to his Champion form: Seadramon."

Seadramon howled out again, using his ice breath to cool the fires and blanket the area in a layer of ice. With the fires dead, Seadramon turned to meet his partner who took a step back anxiously at the sight before him. With a guttural growl, he asked, "What do you think of my new look Michael?"

"It's...different," Michael's mouth hung open, "Betamon...you're so...big."

"I'm Seadramon now," Seadramon stated the obvious. Michael nodded anxiously, too scared to look his partner in the eye while Izzy stated, "I hate to ruin the moment, but the village is still on fire. Seadramon, can you-"

"I think I understand," Seadramon stated, moving towards the nearest fire to put out the flames with his ice breath, "Ice blast!"

"You see guys! It can be done," Gabumon rallied the Otamamon together, "Your water attacks may not be strong on their own, but if you use them all together, you can make a blast as strong as Seadramon!"

"He's right!" an Otamamon agreed, leading the way along with a few others, "Let's go!"

Upon seeing the others, Davis stated, "It looks like you guys have this under control, so I'm going to go ahead and help out Kari."

"And everyone else," Flamedramon added to Davis's disappointment, "Yeah, them too."

"We'll go too," Digimon declared, scooping up Cody in one arm. Flamedramon did the same for Davis, and the two digimon leapt off after Kimeramon.

* * *

They had gone some distance from the village before Kari thought to ask, "How much further do we have to go?"

"Five miles!" the Emperor shouted back, "Then we can place a dark ring on him."

So far their plan to capture Kimeramon was working, but they had to regularly switch out between who held his attention to keep him going in the right direction for any period of time. Occasionally, Kimeramon would lose interest and seemingly wander away until either the Emperor or one of the digidestined would attack him.

It worked for a time until Kimeramon turned around to spot Flamedramon and Digmon running with their partners in hand. Upon seeing them, Kimeramon hurried towards them to attack. Pegasusmon and Nefertimon tried attacking again to get his attention, but Kimeramon brushed off the attacks as if they were an itch.

Flamedramon and Digmon slid to a halt and let their partners go before readying to fight Kimeramon head on. Flamedramon leapt into the air, throwing himself onto flying beast while he came aflame, "Fire Rocket!"

He hit Kimeramon hard enough to knock him back onto the ground, giving Digmon an opening to jump onto his chest and start drilling. Kimeramon's eyes widened angrily before he rolled onto his stomach to flatten the bug digimon beneath him. Cody gasped out, "DIGMON!"

Kimeramon shook its head to straighten its senses and focused on Flamedramon, startling the fiery digimon into a run. It pursued on all its large and misshapen limbs, moving like a disgusting insect while leaving an unconscious Digmon on the sand. Flamedramon started running, moving just fast enough to stay ahead of the creature.

"Davis! What are you doing here you!?" Kari shouted at him in unison with her partner although Nefertimon chose to add idiot to the end of her question. He produced a metallic egg from his pocket and held it out to her, "Trying to give you guys this! We found it on Ken's ship!"

This revelation was interrupted when they were joined by TK, Mimi, Palmon and Pegasusmon. TK hopped off his partner right away to ask, "Guys! We need to focus on Kimera...is that another digiegg?"

"Yeah, JP," Davis grumbled, "It's gotta be Kari's...or yours I guess. I mean, you guys are the only one without a second digiegg."

When neither one made a move towards it, Davis asked, "What's wrong? Do I have egg on my face?"

Both kids face palmed and Palmon remarked, "If you were trying to make a pun, it was bad."

Cody snatched the egg out of Davis's hand and threw into TK's, much to Davis's surprise. Before anyone could comment on Cody's sudden brash behavior, he said, "I don't want to be rude but we are in a rush, you know? Can we hurry up and use the digiegg? Digmon still needs help!"

"Oh...right. Um," TK examined the egg carefully, surprised that there was still a digiegg they weren't aware of and curious about how many were still out there in the world. He turned the digiegg over in his hands before holding it out towards Pegasusmon, "DigiArmor Energize!"

They awaited the familiar flash of blinding light and were met with nothing, just the distant sounds of Flamedramon trying to outrun the rampaging Kimeramon on his own. He tried shouting at them to get their attention but all were too fixated on the digiegg to do anything useful. There should have been a digivolution but there was nothing. Naturally, Davis stated, "I was right. It is Kari's."

"I don't think it is," Kari shook her head, "Because...I mean, I felt something when I found my digiegg. I don't feel anything for this one."

Mimi finally chimed in with her two cents, "Well, I thought the digieggs were supposed to go to you guys. It has to belong to someone. Unless, you think it happens to belong to Ken or The Emperor or whatever his name is."

Kari shook her head in disagreement and stepped off her partner to hold the egg in TK's hands. It took the blonde off guard for a second as their hands touched, and he let go quietly. She offered it to Davis in both hands, "I think it's yours. You found it, right?"

"Huh, oh no. Not me. I just noticed it," Davis stuttered, slowly moving his hands to take the digiegg from Kari and (as a plus) hold her hand. Kari could sense his hesitation and gently placed it there, trying not to notice how red his face was, "Exactly. You noticed it. When no one else did. That means it's your digiegg. It has to be."

"Well, if you say it is Kari then I agree," Davis nodded, still glowing bright red. Mimi rolled her eyes and mumbled, "Because he'll do anything you ask him to."

Any joy Davis could have derived from the moment was quickly killed when the Emperor arrived with his partner Stingmon, floating between the two like an overbearing parent with Armadillomon tucked under his arm. Stingmon rested the armadillo on the sand to while the Emperor growled, "Oi! Morons! What are you doing!? Kimeramon is over there! And so's your partner!"

He pointed out Flamedramon running as fast as he could away from the rain of fire and destruction that was Kimeramon's rampage. He was visibly gasping for breath too, angrily shouting, "It's about time you guys noticed I was in trouble! DO SOMETHING ALREADY!"

"Ke...Emperor. If I may, we should try Plan Aeleron Barrel," Stingmon suggested non chalantly, "It will give Flamedramon a chance to breathe."

The Emperor looked at Stingmon quizzically and grumbled, "That one is one of Tamer's plans. We're not using it. And where are we supposed to get a steam roller!?"

"We improvise," Stingmon stated more happily than he should have.

"Wait, how would you know one of Tamer's plans?" Kari gasped anxiously, surprised that the Emperor could possibly know anything about him. She leaned in expectantly and was met by an answer she never expected, "You pick up a few things if you spend time with him. It was an interesting time. Why am I telling you this? This plan is not going how I hoped it would. Stingmon, Assault Plan Sigma Six."

Stingmon grabbed the Emperor again before zipping away to go help Flamedramon with his blades extended outward to attack, "Spiking Strike!"

He flew low to stab at Kimeramon's legs, cutting the digimon's hinds so that it staggered to the ground. Flamedramon saw his chance to and retreated back to the others, sliding to a stop at their feet. He immediately returned to his rookie form of Veemon and gasped for breath, "Geez guysh! Thanksh for the help!"

"Sorry Veemon," Davis apologized, patting his partner's back, "We got distracted."

He opened one eye to look at Davis, "Yeah, I bet you were talking to Kari. You humansh are weird shometimesh."

Behind them, the Emperor had gone from riding atop his partner to fighting on the sandy beach. Because of his size, most of what the Emperor could do devolved to striking Kimeramon's legs with his whip while Stingmon buzzed around overhead, occasionally stabbing at Kimeramon with his blades. The way the two fought together, in unspoken synchronization, was far too reminiscent of something only the older digidestined could recall - The Digimon Tamer and Agumon fighting side by side rhythmically. Mimi commented, "Okay. This is getting weird."

"You better believe it is. I can't stand here and do nothing. Are you ready to try out a new armor upgrade Veemon?" Davis asked the little blue dragon, only to be met with a soft punch to the knee, "Shure, why not? Jusht let me have a minute."

"I don't think the Emperor or Stingmon have a minute," Mimi pointed out, gesturing at the pair who were struggling to hold their own against Kimeramon's overwhelming strength. TK and Kari climbed back onto their partners, "Okay, we'll go in and buy some more time."

"Us too!" Yolei added. The six flew off to help their ally of necessity, taking shots at the rampaging behemoth to split its attention away from the Emperor and Stingmon. At that moment, Armadillomon jolted awake, "Did anybody get the number o' that bus?"

"It's alright Armadillomon," Cody patted his partner, "You did your best. Now rest."

"I guess so," Armadillomon nodded his head drearily.

Kimeramon grew frustrated with all the attackers and resorted to spewing flames all around him, "Heat Viper!"

The digidestined scattered and gave Kimeramon an opening to focus on the Emperor. The Emperor froze when Kimeramon's claws closed in on him, trying to force himself out of its path but clearly frozen in terror from his impending pain. It was only when Stingmon swooped in to push him out of the way that he was finally able to move, "STINGMON!"

There was a sickening crunch as Stingmon screamed before falling to the ground, returning to his rookie state as Wormmon. Without any further prompting, the Emperor dropped his whip and ran to his partner's side. Davis urged his partner back onto his feet, "We need to get in there, Veemon."

"Right, yeah," Veemon pushed himself up and took a deep breath, "Let'sh go Davish!"

Davis raised out his golden digieggs and cried out, "DigiArmor Energize!"

The golden light enveloped his hands before reaching out to Veemon. In a unique display, Veemon leapt into the air with his fist forward and shouted, "Veemon! Golden Armor Digivolve to! Magnamon, the Guardian of Miracles!"

From beyond the golden light came a tall figure that resembled Flamedramon but in golden armor that covered his face, torso, legs, and arms but left his hands exposed to reveal clenched fists. This new digimon, Magnamon radiated golden light upon the beach that drew everyone's attention his way - including Kimeramon's. The abomination hissed on seeing Magnamon and charged on all legs towards the new digimon. At the last second, the beast leapt into the air to tackle Magnamon and was met with Magnamon bracing himself. The two collided but neither gave an inch, pushing as hard as they could to make the other move. After some time, Magnamon drew back his arm and threw a fist into Kimeramon's face, "Magna Punch!"

Kimeramon flew away into the ocean and slammed into the water. The digidestined were in awe with Mimi commenting, "Wow! Thats some punch."

"Magnamon, I've heard of him," Nefertimon began, "He's one of the Royal Knights, like Omegamon! I never thought we'd see another one!"

"I still think it's Omnimon," Pegasusmon commented quietly.

"Royal Knight?" Yolei repeated curiously and her partner nodded, "They're the protectors of the Digital World, loyal only to the king. But no one has seen them in a while. I guess we know why, now."

"Alright! Veemon's a knight! I mean Magnamon's a knight! I mean, whatever!" Davis cheered excitedly upon hearing Nefertimon and Pegasusmon. He focused his enthusiasm on his partner and added, "Now show that ugly freak who's boss! Take him out!"

"No! We have to get it under control! I need it alive!" the Emperor shouted angrily only to be ignored. Magnamon and Kimeramon squared off again, each trying to strike the other down. However, the two were far too evenly matched to deal any serious blow to the other. In awe of the fight, the others chose to keep their distance to avoid getting in the way. Eventually, Kimeramon was able to nail a hit on Magnamon but he corrected himself in the air appropriately.

"Magnamon! What's wrong?" Halsemon gasped. Davis grit his teeth and answered, "He's tired, we all are. He's not strong enough to do it on his own."

"Then let's help!" TK patted Pegasusmon. The horse nodded and flew forward into the fight to split Kimeramon's attention again. Nefertimon and Halsemon joined but were too slow to prevent Magnamon from being kicked into the ground beside the Emperor. Davis hurried past to his partner, "Magnamon!"

* * *

Wormmon looked at the intense fighting, then over to his partner. He could see the apprehension in his eyes; the torn indecision between stopping his creation and achieving the one thing he'd always wanted. Ken couldn't decide, but Wormmon could and he knew exactly what choice to make. He nudged his partner and said, "Emperor. Do you remember that thing The Tamer showed us?"

"Wormmon, what are you thinking?" the Emperor's voice shook, already aware what his partner was thinking. Wormmon became teary eyed at the thought of his own actions but knew it had to be done, "Magnamon can do it. He can beat Kimeramon. He just needs a little more strength."

"Wormmon, don't do it!" the Emperor's voice broke, "I can't...I won't let them be right! Tamer or WarGreymon."

Wormmon used his claw to tap the unconscious Magnamon beside him, quietly recalling how to do what he was about to, "Im sorry Ken. Magnamon. I don't have a lot of energy left but please...take it."

Wormmon felt a strength grow inside him, welling up until it vanished - passed through to Magnamon. Magnamon rose from the sands, rising straight into the air as if held aloft by an unseen force. His eyes opened wide and he nodded, "Thank you, Wormmon."

Wormmon felt an unwelcome cold darkness overtake him, followed only by the sounds of his partner calling out his name in despair. His partner begged and pleaded for him to not go, only for it to fade into silence as well. Then there was nothing but a cold flash of light.

* * *

Davis had no idea what he'd witnessed and could only describe it as some kind of miracle. Wormmon came aglow with a soft light that he transferred to Magnamon before vanishing to dust, leaving the Emperor alone to stare into his now empty hands. Davis shook his head, not sure if what he'd seen actually happened or if he imagined it. He decided to worry about it alter, instead cheering on Magnamon as he fought Kimeramon.

His golden partner kicked Kimeramon in the face, forcing him back onto the beach, "Magna Kick!"

Kimeramon sank waist deep into the water before finally stopping. It spewed out more fire at Magnamon, "HEAT VIPER!"

Magnamon fired his own attack, a single golden light that burst out like a beam towards Kimeramon, "MAGNA IMPACT!"

The two attacks met each other in the air and collided, creating a blast of wind that forced everyone else to retreat. The two attacks pushed against each other, both digimon struggling to ensure their attack was the one to win out. All it took was one last push, but that was enough for Magnamon's energy to overpower the flames, pushing straight ahead into Kimeramon's mouth. It's eyes bulged and its mouth widened, burned away by blast until Kimeramon's head popped - leaving a headless body that went limp briefly. It sagged until it disappeared the same way Wormmon did.

Davis wanted to be happy, to punch the air and cheer like the others were at Kimeramon's defeat. But he now understood what disappearing like that meant. Wormmon was gone. He looked to his side at the Emperor to see the boy still looking at his empty hands in utter disbelief. He hadn't moved at all, or even seemed to notice that the battle was over. Davis went to put a hand on the Emperor's shoulder, a way to help the boy feel better only to bet met with an out of place deranged expression, "Don't touch me."

"Whoa, Ken. Relax," Davis threw his hands up, "I was just-"

"I don't care what you were doing!" the Emperor snapped, finally getting up to his feet and breathing heavily, "You NEVER touch me!"

"Davis that was amazing!" Kari said as she joined them atop Nefertimon, "I knew you could do it!"

"Yeah, I'll have to give you credit for this one," Yolei nodded in agreement as she arrived on Halsemon, "You really-WAGH!"

Before she could finish her sentence, the Emperor had climbed onto Halsemon's back and put Yolei into a choke hold from behind. Davis took a step to help only to be told, "DON'T COME ANY CLOSER! STAY WHERE YOU ARE OR I'LL BREAK HER NECK!"

Yolei's eyes bulged as he tightened her hold, wrapping her hands around the Emperor's arm to break his hold. This only made him squeeze harder until she stopped and he added, "You. Bird. Lazarus Temple! NOW!"

"What are you doing?" Davis grunted out. The Emperor replied, "Getting my partner back! BIRD! GO NOW!"

Halsemon leered at the boy on his back, "If you hurt Yolei, I'll-"

"-have a dead partner because you're testing my patience! GO!" the Emperor roared again. Halsemon beat his wings once to get into the air and took off into the horizon just as the others arrived. Cody asked, "What just happened?"

"Trouble," Davis stated, "We need to go after them!"

 


	16. The Lazarus Temple

"I guess I'll just wish you guys good luck," Mimi stated to the surprise of the younger digidestined, looking at her with mouths hanging wide open. Davis asked, "You're not coming?"

"Not for this part," she replied with a soft smile making her way to Palmon, "That Lazarus Temple was what the Emperor was trying to get to, right? The place where he said you can bring people back. I can't go there. If I do, I think I'll do something I'll regret. So I can't go. I won't go."

"Mimi, Yolei needs our help!" Kari said this time, a terrified frown upon her face. Mimi nodded and folded her arms, "You guys can handle it. It looks to me like you guys have this whole thing under control anyway. Besides, Izzy and Michael are probably wondering if I'm okay. I wouldn't want to disappoint them."

"I'm not sure if that's mature of you or…really manipulative," Palmon wondered aloud, scratching the flower on her head. Mimi responded by winking playfully, as if sharing a secret with the rest of the team although only Kari, TK, Pegasusmon, and Nefertimon actually understood. This didn't stop Veemon from commenting, "Sho…wait, I thought you liked Izzy? Or ish thish another one of thoshe human thingsh?"

"Yeah, I'm kinda confused too," Cody scratched the back of his head. The two blundering statements were nothing compared to what Davis said, "No, see: Izzy likes Mimi. That was obvious from when she first showed up. And Michael also likes Mimi, which is why he came half way around our world with her. He was probably hoping that he'd be able to get closer to her that way. Which is probably the same reason Izzy came. He wanted to spend time with the girl he thinks is so cute. However, neither of them wants to be too forward even though that's probably the kind of guy Mimi would like."

The insight in his statement caught them all of guard, and left Mimi's face bright red in embarrassment. Davis noticed the looks he was getting and asked, "What?"

"You're not ash dumb ash you act shometimesh," Veemon remarked, annoying his partner into grumbling, "Hey! What do you mean dumb?"

"Yeah, I'm going back now," Mimi rejoined her partner, trying to hide how stunned her face was, "Palmon, do you think you can digivolve again? This salt air won't do my hair any good."

"I think I have one more in me," Palmon nodded her head, and waved to the others, "Good luck you guys!"

* * *

Halsemon flew in the direction the Emperor demanded for some time, occasionally looking back to see Yolei still in a choke hold. The Emperor had loosened his grip so that she could breathe with less difficulty but still held her tight enough so that she couldn't escape, both arms restrained behind her back. Thankfully, Yolei made no effort to resist and instead tried questioning the Emperor, "Why are you so fixed on going to the Lazarus Temple anyway? What's there?"

"A way to bring back the dead. Pay attention," the Emperor growled angrily.

"You know you could've asked for a lift. Halsemon and I would've been more than willing to lend you one."

"Do I look like I'm in the mood to ask?" the Emperor spat back at her, "Just shut up and keep flying."

Yolei fell silent and began counting in her head to three hundred - five minutes. Once she finished, she spoke again, "But why were you so fixated on the temple?"

"I said shut up," the Emperor repeated to her, tightening his hold on her so that she had to struggle to breath. Yolei felt her throat gag and her chest tighten until the Emperor let go and she understood the message. Stay quiet or he'd end her. They carried on in silence for the duration of the trip until they finally arrived at their destination - a large stone temple like so many others they'd seen before standing by itself in the middle of the desert. Halsemon asked, "Huh. With something that big, you'd think there'd be more digimon around."

"No one would be able to find it without knowing where it is. This desert is massive," the Emperor stated matter of factly, "And getting lost isn't a problem here without a guide. Stop here. I said stop! STOP!"

The Emperor kicked the Halsemon with his heels to make the gryphon obey, halting them in midair and nearly throwing them both off his back. With another kick, Halsemon dove straight to the ground and landed in the sand. He hit it hard to try and send them both flying off his back, mostly to get the Emperor of Yolei but was annoyed to learn that the boy's grip was much stronger than it appeared. Yolei grumbled at her partner, "Hey! What gives!?"

"Don't you pay attention? You know what, never mind. Go ahead. See what happens," the Emperor said, climbing off the gryphon's back and offering a smirk that dared Halsemon to try what he did again. After a moment passed in silence, the Emperor picked up a stone from the sand and pitched it as hard as he could towards the temple. The stone flew ahead and vanished before their eyes, shocking Yolei until she felt something hard hit the back of her head, "OW! WHAT?"

She looked over her shoulder to find nothing there but miles of empty desert. She massaged the back of her head, "What was that?"

"The stone," the Emperor kneeled down beside her and picked up the stone he'd thrown, "It's your typical _Ancient_ trap; an extra-dimensional trick to keep unwanted guests out. Kimeramon was going to be my solution but I suppose it'll have to be you guys instead."

As soon as he said that, Yolei felt herself pushed forward from behind and stumbled forward. She caught herself before she fell face first onto the sand and complained, "Hey! What gives...oh."

Yolei looked around her and realized that she was by herself. It only took one look at the temple for her to realize that she was not in the same part of the desert where she was a moment ago. And if she came this way by going forward, she should be able to get back by walking backwards. Which she did, confident that she would see her partner again. After a few minutes, that confidence turned to concern as neither the Emperor nor Halsemon came into view. She tried to remain calm but any semblance of calmness disappeared when she looked back at the temple to find that it was still there, the same distance away as it was when she'd started. Worry turned to frantic running and into panicked screaming, "Halsemon! HELP!"

* * *

Davis and Veemon rode atop Nefertimon with Kari on the path towards Yolei. Cody and Armadillomon rode with TK atop Pegasusmon, leading the way after Halsemon in the hopes of rescuing Yolei. The silence of their flight was broken only by Kari, "I hope they're both okay."

"Yolei? Probably not. We know how she is under pressure," Davis said, earning him an annoyed frown from Kari, "Davis, give her credit. She captured Ninjamon on her own and helped us save the village. She's stronger than you think she is."

"What? I'm just saying what we're all thinking," Davis stated, not expecting Kari to scoff and look away from him in disgust. Pegasusmon joked, "Are we sure Davis isn't as dumb as he acts?"

"He's just a little hard headed," Armadillomon pointed out, "Like at the game. He's observant, but doesn't really know how ta' use it."

"Are we there yet? I feel like we've done a lot of flying today," Nefertimon moaned slowly descending in the air. Kari rubbed her partner's head, "Hang in there Nefertimon, we should be there soon."

"Or more accurately, now," TK pointed out just ahead of them towards a tall temple in the distance. Some distance ahead of them were Yolei and Halsemon, disappearing and reappearing at random in different spots around the temple as they both frantically tried to make their way to each other. Davis turned his head to the side, "What? How are they doing that? Are they magicians now?"

"It looks like that Ancient tech again," Nefertimon explained, descending to the ground in front of them, "Like Myotismon's Castle only outside. They must've change the whole place."

"Great! What doesh any of that mean?" Veemon looked at the cat anxiously, "Because watching them try to get to each other like that ish confushing. It'sh making me dizzy."

He pointed out the fact that Yolei and Halsemon were just about to meet each other when they both blinked out of existence only to reappear further apart than before. Halsemon was some distance closer to the temple while Yolei ended up several hundred feet in the air. She screamed silently and fell a ways before disappearing again and reappearing on the ground, rolling forward into the sand. Nefertimon went on to explain, "They're trapped in an extra dimensional maze - going forward isn't the same as going straight. Which is why they're constantly appearing all over the place. Going backwards doesn't help either. Even sound can't move through properly, which is why we can't hear them."

Although Yolei appeared halfway on the far side of the temple, they heard her voice scream, "I FUCKING HATE THIS PLACE!"

"Wow that was loud," Davis remarked, covering his ears. Cody pointed out, "But if we can hear her, then can't she hear us? YOLEI! CAN YOU HEAR US!?"

"YES! STOP SHOUTING CODY!" Yolei screamed back at them, having the little boy recoil in surprise. Armadillomon added, "You don't have to be so loud Yolei. We can hear you fine."

"I'VE SPENT THE LAST HALF HOUR FLYING AROUND LIKE CRAZY AND FALLING AND TRIPPING! I'LL SCREAM ALL THE FUCK I WANT!" Yolei's disembodied voice growled back. From afar they could see her kicking at the sand and throwing rocks and screaming. One of those rocks managed to disappear and reappear behind her - hitting the back of her head.

"So how did Myotismon figure out his way through the castle?" TK blinked, now watching Halsemon falling from several feet in the air before reappearing beside the temple and slamming face first into the wall. Nefertimon took several steps back and stretched her wings, loosening her muscles after the long flight, "Trial and Error. Duck Yolei! ROSETTA STONE!"

A beam of light rose from Nefertimon's back, summoning a stone that flew forwards towards the temple before vanishing. It reappeared some distance away, flying back towards them until vanishing again and reappearing just in front of Yolei. The girl squeaked and hit the dirt just as it zipped over head head, disappearing behind her and reappearing at the entrance into the temple. She poked her head up and shouted, "WHAT THE HELL!?"

"I said duck," Nefertimon replied sheepishly. Yolei stood up and dusted herself off, "So...do I just walk backwards and get into the temple?"

Nefertimon shrugged and readied to fire again, "Maybe, trial and error was how we figured out Myotismon's castle. We can't be sure that path will work twice. ROSETTA STONE!"

Another stone tablet fired from her back and vanished, traveling the same path as the previous stone until it landed at the front door. Yolei squeaked in panic once more before slamming to the ground and angrily shouting, "WILL YOU STOP DOING THAT!?"

"Looks like luck is on your side, Yolei," Cody nodded quietly, while TK mumbled, "Or destiny, with all that stuff Tamer...Tai...whatever talks about."

"Well, I guess that settles it," Pegasusmon nodded quietly, "We have a path forward. Let's hurry and go through."

"Everyone hold hands and walk in a straight line," TK instructed to them, holding his hand out to the others, "If this is anything like Myotismon's castle last time, this will be the only way we don't get separated."

Kari took his hand in hers and he just then realized how soft it was to hold. He looked ahead when he realized his face was flushing to hide his embarrassment, but head Davis say, "I'll hold your hand Kari so you don't get scared."

"I'm not scared Davis," she responded flatly, "Just nervous. We haven't found Tai, yet."

"I know he's yer brother and all but I think we've been doin' well without 'im," Armadillomon pointed out to her, a fact that she merely grunted at in rebuttal. Pegasusmon offered his tail to TK to hold, "Hold on tight and stay close together. We don't want to get separated in here."

"Hey! What about me and Halsemon?" Yolei's disembodied voice yelled in frustration. TK looked at Nefertimon, quietly contemplating if he should ask her to fire again just to be sure it would work before declaring, "We'll get to you if we just keep walking straight. Grab on as soon as you get to us and we'll guide you out."

"And Halsemon?" Yolei asked, tapping her foot impatiently on the sand. It only took an off hand glance to the side to see Halsemon steadily walking along the side of the temple to the entrance. He took each step cautiously, nervous that he would find himself somewhere else but never did. TK remarked, "I think he'll be okay."

"What are you talking about TK!? He's...oh," Yolei gestured towards her partner and saw what the other's were seeing. She sighed and massaged the bridge of her nose, "Today has been nothing but weird. Whatever, just get me."

"Well, alrighty then," Armadillomon stated matter of factly, "Giddy up Pegasusmon!"

Pegasusmon neighed once before taking off. TK held on tight to his partner's tail, moving as fast as his legs would let him and trying not to let go. Kari squeezed his hand the faster they went and he felt the pull of the others' weight on him. His stomach turned the first time they swapped locations and he found himself staring at Kari, then Davis, Veemon, Cody, and Nefertimon with Armadillomon on her back. They disappeared one by one only to reappear behind him. The fever dream continued and the sickening feeling returned when the world shifted again and they found themselves running towards Yolei. She latched onto Pegasusmon as soon as they passed her and held on for dear life, "I FUCKING hate this place!"

"Just hang on. We're almost...there!" TK shouted as his stomach turned one final time and they reappeared at the entrance to the temple. They continued running a little longer to give the others room to enter and stopped only when everyone was through. TK patted his partner, "Good job."

"Yeah, great," Yolei stomped off, following the wall to meet her partner who was still limping along some distance away. Cody watched curiously and wondered, "Why aren't they popping all over the place here?"

"Maybe that Ancient stuff doesn't work this close to the temple?" Davis suggested, unsure of the answer himself, "It's kind of a dumb defense though. We made it through in one go."

As soon as he uttered those words, the wall beside him parted and a harsh blast of light fired at his feet. Davis jumped back in surprise, cursing at the wall in frustration, "Hey! What gives!? The wall is shooting at us!"

Other parts of the wall parted as well, allowing more light to fire out at the digidestined. Davis yelped and dove out of the path of the blasts, doing an odd dance to avoid getting hurt. Yolei and Halsemon quickly rejoined the group, screaming, "WHAT IS WITH THIS PLACE!?"

"The Ancients probably didn't want people poking around their temples!" Nefertimon gasped, using her wings to shield Kari and usher her inside, "Let's get out of here!"

"You don't have to tell us twice!" Cody said, picking up Armadillomon to help him inside faster. Inside was no better than outside as they were greeted with a long dark stretch of hall way that extended indefinitely. Davis rested his arms behind his head and noted, "Well, it's good to know that Ken still doesn't have the lights working."

"As smart as he says he is, you'd think he'd have it figured out by now," Halsemon grunted, finally regressing to his smaller form of Hawkmon and collapsing onto the floor from exhaustion, "Oh, I'm tired. Could we have a minute?"

"Yeah," Nefertimon and Pegasusmon joined him in returning to their smaller forms, finally giving out from the exhasution of the day's events, "This day has not been a fun one."

"I bet, since you guys have been carrying us around everywhere," TK said, scooping up his partner and cradling him in his arms, "You guys rest. We'll carry you this time."

Kari and Yolei followed his lead, prompting Veemon to ask, "Am I going to be carried Davish?"

Davis looked down at his partner apprehensively, glancing sideways at Kari briefly before finally lifting his partner onto his shoulders, "Yeah, I guess. Alright, let's go find Ken and knock some sense into him."

"It's pitch black in there and we can't see a thing," Cody pointed out, bringing any desire to proceed to a halt. At least until Yolei produced her digivice, "The digivices! They have maps! It should be able to tell us where to go!"

Hawkmon turned his head to the side, "Yolei, I don't think that's how it-"

"Got it!" Yolei stated, showing them the screen of her digivice which highlighted a map of the temple and six red dots - five together at the entrance and one further in. Hawkmon's mouth fell open while she excitedly stated, "Prodigious!"

"Prodigenotous!" Davis repeated poorly to Yolei's frustration, "How about you leave the big words to me?"

"Oh forget it," Davis rolled his eyes, before widening them again when the temple hall came to life with light. Everyone flinched together as they expected to get blown away by another barrage of fire, but no attacks came. When they finally summoned the nerve to look around, they each felt embarrassed by the idea of panicking at the lights turning on. Veemon shuddered, "Let'sh not talk about thish ever again."

"Right, we should hurry and catch up to Ken," Davis said, taking the first few steps before realizing that Yolei was the one holding the map, "Lead the way Yolei."

"Yeah, right," she nodded, stepping in front to guide the group in total silence. As they walked, Cody asked, "So how did you get lost in that...desert, Yolei?"

Without looking up from her screen, she replied, "The Emperor pushed us in there. He wanted us to be his guinea pigs so that he could figure out a way through. He watched us for a while, then he just walked inside like he owned the place. He didn't even bother trying to get us out."

"He said we should enjoy being trapped for the rest of our lives since that's what it would take for us to get out," Hawkmon added incredulously.

Taking in the temple was something else - hieroglyphs lined the walls endlessly and the stone design fit the name 'ancient'. Yet the further in they went, the mistier it became and the more unnerving it became for Gatomon. Yolei remarked, "That's weird. There's mist but it's not humid or cold. What is this?"

"It's not mist. It's data," Gatomon stated quietly, "Data from digimon that were killed."

"You mean like Wormmon?" Davis asked, looking over his shoulder. Gatomon nodded quietly and didn't say any more, so TK decided to fill them in instead, "Digimon don't die the way humans die. Their data reformats, scatters to recollect at a place called Primary Village. There, they're reborn into digieggs where they start their lives over again. Stronger digimon like Patamon can retain their memories when they die. Weaker..."

TK paused when he saw Gatomon shift uncomfortably before correcting himself, "But most digimon don't retain their memories. They're reborn with no idea of who they were before. Except the Ancients found a way to make sure that didn't happen. These digimon...their data was frozen so that it can't recollect there. It's stuck right where the digimon died. They can't be reborn. They're just...dead."

"Why would they do that?" Cody asked quietly, looking around at all the fog. Gatomon answered the question, "Some digimon were too dangerous to be allowed to come back."

"But I don't get it. If digimon just come back, why would the Emperor come all the way out here?" Davis asked quietly, "Why not go to that Village you were talking about?"

"Weren't you listening Davis? It's like TK said! Most digimon don't keep their memories when they come back!" Yolei repeated for him, "It's no wonder Ken freaked out the way he did. He's probably trying to make sure Wormmon comes back with his memories."

"I guess I didn't think about it like that," Davis's eyes looked downward and he became quiet, recalling the Emperor's frozen reaction when Wormmon disappeared. The fog grew thicker the further they traveled until eventually it blocked their vision, forcing them to rely on Yolei's map to guide them. The thickness brought up another question - how many digimon had died here that the fog would be so thick and how many of them were driven by the same goal as the Emperor? To have a chance at returning to life someone they cared for.

At a certain point, they heard incoherent rambling in the distance accompanied by the occasional shout just ahead of them. Further they went until they came across a large room bathed in the light of a single large door reminiscent of the gate to the Digital World. Beside it was a computer console that Emperor busily worked at while talking to no one, "I'll bring him back. It'll be okay. Everything will be okay. SHUT UP KIMERAMON! GET OUT OF MY HEAD! THIS WILL WORK! Everything will be just like it was. First Sam. Then Wormmon. Hell, why stop there? I can fix it. I CAN FIX IT ALL!"

He hadn't seemed to notice they were there yet which gave them an opportunity to sneak up on them. TK tried signaling this to the others but was unable to stop Hawkmon from blurting out a simple question, "Who's Sam?"

The Emperor turned around in disbelief, eyes wide and manic as he stared them down from across the large room. With a swift motion, he produced his digivice and aimed it at them, "Oh great. It's you morons. Do me a favor: Stay over there and stay out of my way while I work!"

"Who's Sam?" Hawkmon asked again, only to be rebutted more angrily, "SHUT UP! FOR ONCE IN YOUR MISERABLE LIVES WILL YOU LEAVE ME ALONE TO MY WORK?"

Hawkmon asked more determinedly, "Only after you answer the question: Who is Sam?"

"It's his brother," Yolei answered the question for him, staring in silence at the boy who'd taken her hostage not long ago. She started walking towards him, seemingly ignorant of the fact that he was now training his digivice on her while reciting, "His brother Osamu 'Sam' Ichijouji. You looked up to him. I read about it in an interview you gave to a magazine. You idolized him because he was a popular boy genius too. But he died years back when the digimon appeared. You were injured and he gave his life trying to save-"

"Not another word," the Emperor hissed at her, stepping away from the computer he worked at. TK looked from Yolei and her stunned expression to the Emperor with his scowl, "Is that what this has all been about? Getting revenge on the Digital World for your brother?"

The Emperor shouted, "SHUT UP! FOR ONCE SHUT UP! DON'T YOU EVER LISTEN? THIS WAS NEVER ABOUT REVENGE! THIS HAS ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT WHAT _COULD_ BE DONE, WHAT _SHOULD_ BE DONE, BUT WHAT THE ONLY ONES WHO _COULD_ DO IT REFUSING TO. I'VE BEEN TRYING TO RIGHT EVERY WRONG I COULD!"

He stopped, gasping for breath while keeping his digivice trained on them, "In the corner now!"

"What are you, our mom? You're not putting us in the corner!" Davis argued back to the Emperor's frustration, only to be met with a blinding flash of light that had him stumbling onto the floor. Veemon rolled off his shoulders and massaged his head, grumbling about being blind. The Emperor scoffed and shot the rest of them a warning look but the rest of them refused to move. He clicked his tongue and returned to his work, "Fuck it. Do what you want, but leave me alone."

"What we want is to know what you're planning on doing," Gatomon stated, leaping out of Kari's arms to face the Emperor, "To bring your brother back? It won't change what you've done. It won't change the lives that have been ruined."

"Don't you dare lecture me," he said back, still working on the computer, "Don't you think you can understand me."

"We understand better than you think Ken," Cody spoke up this time, "And this...this isn't what Sam-"

The Emperor turned on them, "DON'T SAY HIS NAME! SHUT UP! I SAID SHUT UP KIMERAMON! YOU TOO! ALL OF YOU SHUT UP! ESPECIALLY YOU KIMERAMON!"

He pointed at Cody specifically, or rather to his left which took the little boy by surprise, "Kimeramon?"

"I think he's losing it," Armadillomon shied away from the increasingly unhinged Digimon Emperor as he continued to work, "I can bring them back. I can bring them back. I can bring them back!"

"Are you sure you want to?" TK asked him seriously, which made the Emperor stop to look up from the monitor. He turned on TK and stepped towards him quickly, pushing the others out of his way and grabbing him by the collar, "How fucking stupid of a question is that? Am I sure I want to? Of course I'm sure! It's why I'm doing it aren't I?"

"I mean, are you sure you want them to see you like this?" TK asked more seriously, which made his expression change from annoyed to concerned. TK went on, "You're not the only one who's lost something. Cody's dad was killed that day. Gatomon lost Wizardmon. Patamon died the first time I came to the Digital World. But this isn't how you-"

"You freaked out in my ship and attacked me!" the Emperor snapped, throwing TK to the ground, "Don't you fucking tell me how to act right now!"

TK felt his grip tighten on his partner, recalling the blind frenzy that he flew into once he saw Devimon. He regretted his actions now as would make it impossible to even reason with the Emperor in his current state. He tried to think of some words to say but found none, leaving the Emperor to silently return working on the computer. Against any sense, Davis casually strolled over to the computer and asked, "How can you tell what you're doing? I mean - none of that is in Japanese. How can you even read it?"

"I memorized it, moron," the Emperor said without looking up, still working on the computer. Davis pressed on and asked, "So…what are you-"

"Is this another stupid attempt to convince me to stop?" the Emperor looked up briefly at Davis. The goggle headed boy shook his head, "Nah. You look like you need a win today."

The Emperor continued working quietly on the compute as Davis went on, "I mean...your ship was blown up, Kimeramon decided to go against your orders, Magnamon beat that thing you made, your partner died. Everything's just kind of blown up in your face. It may be our job to stop you and I really wanted to pay you back for before, but I'm not a bully. I'm not going to kick you while you're down."

"Even though he made you beg to let the othersh go?" Veemon asked, astonished at the sympath his partner was showing. Davis shrugged, "What good would it do? Seeing us with out partners probably isn't helping, y'know?"

"He still needs to answer for what he's done," Cody stated plainly, "He hurt a lot of digimon and killed a lot more. It's not enough that we've stopped him, we have to make sure he doesn't do it again."

Davis did a double take on Cody from beside the Emperor, "He looks like he's been punished enough. He's talking to himself."

"I'm not talking to myself," the Emperor snapped at Davis angrily, "You're just too stupid to see what I see. You're all stupid! Especially you Kimeramon!"

"Um, Kimeramon'sh gone. Remember?" Veemon asked sheepishly, falling quiet when the Emperor shot him a deathly glare. He went back to typing on the computer once he was sure Veemon wouldn't say another word, and didn't say another word until the gate finally started to crack open. His grin widened madly and he proclaimed, "Yes. That's right. Come back! Sam! Wormmon!"

"Uh, should we be stopping this?" Yolei looked at anyone she could worriedly, "I mean...I feel bad for him but bringing back the dead...it's creepy. We probably shouldn't be letting this happen."

"Yeah, I'm stopping this," TK said, hurrying forward towards the console where the Emperor was laughing madly at the opening gate. He pressed keys at random, hoping one of them would eventually stop the madness but not really sure if he was even doing anything. Through the door was only blinding light and a tall shadowy figure slowly walking towards them from out of the darkness. The digidestined had to squint their eyes to better see the strange figure but it was too bright to make out any discerning details. As it drew closer, they could vaguely hear it's young boyish voice saying, "…tired. I'm so tired. I think I'm just going to take a nap."

A younger voice spoke back, "Wait! Sam! Come back! Don't leave me! Sam! SAM!"

They could tell the voice was shouting louder with each word, but it grew more distant until finally fading away to nothing - leaving only the silence at the end as the figure finally stepped out of the bright light. The Emperor continued laughing manically, "Yes! I did it! SAM! YOU'RE BACK!"

The Emperor ran away from the console towards the figure, a boy roughly his age with messy blue hair and glasses that vaguely resembled goggles. he dressed in a casual green short sleeved hoodie over a long sleeved shirt and blue khakis. He squinted his eyes as he stepped out of the light, holding out his hand as if to feel in front of him while his eyes adjusted, "Who's there? Where am I? Is this what being dead's like? I'm a little underwhelmed if it is. I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't this."

"Sam!" the Emperor practically screamed, running to hug the boy who just emerged. Sam seemed startled at first, but relaxed when he felt the Emperor bury his face into his chest, "What? Okay, I'm being hugged now. I guess that's not so bad. Who's there?"

"Sam, it's me Ken!" the Emperor said excitedly, looking his brother in the eye and smiling genuinely for the first time they'd known him. Sam rubbed his eyes to help bring his focus back, "Your voice sounds a little deep to be Ken."

"Sam, it's me! I'm your younger brother!" the Emperor said to his older brother, still holding him with both hands. Sam winced his eyes in an attempt to focus them until he finally fixed on the boy in front of him, "You're kind of old to be Ken, too."

"No Sam! It really is me," the Emperor said, placing Sam's hands on his face, "See? It's me. Your brother. I know I look older, it's because you've been gone a long time but that's alright. I'll tell you all about it and we can go home and everything will be alright again."

"Again? What are you talking about? Who are you really and what is this place? I figured the after life would be disorienting but this is...not what I expected," Sam stated, finally realizing there were others in the room with them. As soon as he spotted Veemon, his expression became unreadable although his tone revealed his alarm, "Please say that's a friendly one. Today has been weird. I could deal with a nice pixie but not a nice blue...dragon...dinosaur. What are you?"

"I'm Veemon!" Veemon introduced himself with a wave

"Yeah, he's cool," Davis stated, nudging his partner forward so they could properly meet. Veemon extended a hand, "Hi there! Nice to meet'cha!"

"Hi," Sam shook his hand nervously until the Emperor slapped his hand away, "Ignore them Sam. They're morons who don't know when to quit and keep interfering in my plans."

"Okay, now I know you're not Ken because my little brother doesn't talk like that. He'd never say anything like that about anyone," Sam said, stepping away from the Emperor who stood in disbelief. The Emperor tried to explain, "It's been years Sam. Things have changed. Which is why-"

"Yeah, I'm calling bullshit on this whole thing," Sam replied calmly, inching further back from the Emperor, "You're either crazy or stupid, and I don't know which is worse."

The Emperor's mouth hung wide open while Sam pushed past him to talk to Cody, "Hi. I'm Sam. Who are you?"

Cody bowed in his respectful manner, "Hi Sam. I'm Cody."

"And I'm Armadillomon. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," Armadillomon nodded at the confused boy who was now visibly doing his best to not panic, "So, you look like the most normal person here. Relatively anyway."

"Hey!" Cody took offense at the remark, which Sam ignored, "What's going on here?"

The Emperor's face looked visibly panicked while Cody began, "This is temple is...um...it's called the Lazarus Temple. It's supposed to be a place where you can bring back the dead. We were trying to stop the Emperor from using it because we didn't really know what he was going to bring back. Of all things, we didn't expect him to bring back his brother."

"The Emperor?" Sam repeated mockingly, looking over his shoulder at the Emperor like he was a mad man. The Emperor stormed towards them, "Stop talking to them Sam. They're not-"

"-dressed like crazy people. Well, he's not anyway," Sam gestured at Cody then to the others, "Those two are dressed like pilots for some reason, those clothes don't belong on what I'm assuming is an eleven year old girl, and he's wearing a bucket on his head."

Sam either didn't notice or didn't care that he'd basically insulted the rest of the digidestined. Davis and Yolei examined their 'pilot' gear in confusion, while Kari had suddenly become very self conscious of her clothes. TK took the bucket off his head to inspect, mumbling about how it did vaguely resemble a bucket. Cody felt he had to point out Sam's rudeness, "That wasn't very nice."

"Probably," Sam answered dismissively in a shrug, "I'm not having a very good day. Nice is something I'm kinda done doing. Seriously though, Emperor? Who calls themselves the Emperor?"

"It's what he called himself after he started trying to take over the Digital World," Cody stated, which again led to Sam repeating, "Digital World?"

"You know if you keep interrupting, we'll be here all day," Armadillomon pointed out, a fact that finally humbled Sam into nodding, "You're right. Please go on Cody. I'll be quiet."

Cody sighed, explaining to Sam everything, "The Digital World is the world of digimon, like Armadillomon and Veemon. And we're the digidestined - kids chosen to help save the Digital World when there's trouble. The Emperor over there is one too but, for some reason, he decided that meant trying to take over the Digital World. Digimon who fought back were either killed or enslaved. Everyone else was too scared to fight back and just hid away."

"That's right," Armadillomon added, "He'd make digimon like us fight each other for his own amusement or he'd make them do slave labor - mining, building anything he could think of, or using us to go and find more slaves."

Sam listened quietly before shaking his head and shooting the Emperor a nasty look, "That's...awful."

"Sam, I did it to make it a better place," the Emperor said in his defense, "I did it because of what the digimon did to you! They took you away and-"

"I'm not talking to you," Sam interrupted him before returning his attention to Cody, "You were saying 'Lazarus Temple' earlier. Something about bringing back the dead. And I figured I was dead after I donated all that blood to Kenny. So, how long was I out? It was 1999 back when I checked. Must've been a long time if you guys have the ability to resurrect people."

"It wasn't. This is just something that could only happen in the Digital World Sam," the Emperor started saying only to be cut off again, "Look kid. I've been through a lot and the last person I want to talk too is someone dressed like you and who keeps calling himself my kid brother."

"But I am, Sam! It's me! Ken!" the Emperor pleaded as Cody finally answered, "It would make sense if he was your little brother. I mean, it is 2002."

Sam rounded on Cody in disbelief, then looked back at the Emperor with raised eyebrows and apprehension, "Three years? It's been three. But Kenny was...and...but..."

He massaged his temple but his calm demeanor was beginning to crack under the new information. He looked back at the Emperor in disbelief, "But you can't be Ken. Ken would never-"

"It is me Sam," the Emperor said, holding the boy by his shoulders, "Just look at me! Please, recognize me."

Sam took a step back in terror, "You're not...I mean, you can't be."

"You understand now, right?" the Emperor appeared desperate now to make Sam understand, "I'm Ken."

Sam pushed the boy away and started walking towards the entrance, "No...this isn't right. I'm getting the hell out of here. I don't know what the hell this is but I want out. If this is some kind of after life torture, forget it."

"Sam wait," the Emperor chased after the boy, only to be stopped by Davis, "Okay. I'm not an expert but even I know that some people gotta blow off some steam dude. Let it go."

"GET OFF ME!" the Emperor pushed him away and pursued his brother again. TK scratched his head and replaced the hat he'd just taken off, "Well that wasn't what I expected."

"Shouldn't we stop them before they go outside and run right into the temple's defenses?" Patamon asked sheepishly, which made the digidestined collectively chase after them. They traced the path back to the entrance, only taking a wrong turn a few times, until they found the two boys arguing with each other at the door. The Emperor pleaded again, "Sam, don't go!"

"I'm not listening to you," he said, continuing to march out into the desert, "I'm not listening to some nut job claiming to be my brother."

"SAM! IT'S DANGEROUS! DON'T GO," the Emperor shouted more loudly, which made the boy ignore him harder. He continued walking out into the temple and said, "I already said I'm not listening to-"

A beam of light struck Sam from behind as soon as he stepped outside the temple - the same beam fired at the digidestined earlier. Sam froze for a moment, his face cringing in unimaginable pain with his mouth wide open and eyes bulging out of his eyes. He barely made a noise before his body decayed away to dust that blew away with the wind - turning to nothing. The Emperor froze, falling into stunned silence. He made no effort to reach out to Sam or even cry out his name. The digidestined stood some distance behind the Emperor as he continued staring at where Sam had stood moments before. All were shocked to see that this was the fate they'd narrowly avoided a few minutes ago. Davis was the only one able to speak although he chose the most inappropriate thing to say, "Geez. He can't get a break, can he."

"Davis, do me a favor. Shut up for a second," TK stated to the boy who said nothing further until he noticed the Emperor start walking out into the desert - to the exact spot Sam had been moments before. On reflex, Davis and Veemon raced to grab the boy's arm before he could step outside, "What the hell are you doing?"

"You're gonna get yourshelf killed if you walk out there," Veemon added, not expecting the Emperor's response, "That was the idea."

"What?" Hawkmon gasped in surprise, a sentiment his partner shared. They were all taken aback by his words as he spoke in what could only be the flattest voice possible, "What's the point? I lost."

"You're going to kill yourself just because you lost?" Davis asked incredulously, only to be pushed away. The Emperor looked at them angrily and shouted, "YES! I LOST! I LOST TO DESTINY! TO FATE! TO WHATEVER PREORDAINED BULLSHIT THE DIGIMON TAMER SAID WAS GOING TO HAPPEN! I LOST!"

He breathed heavily for a moment, before quietly adding, "Tamer said this would happen. I would lose to you idiots. And he was right. He said Wormmon would die helping you guys because of my mistakes and he did. He said I wouldn't bring my brother back, and I haven't. I tried to bring Sam back but all that did was get him killed a second time. So what has been the point of anything I've done!? Tell me, what's the point when my life has already predetermined for me and nothing I can do will ever change it?"

"Hey, Ken. No offense, but-" Davis finished his sentence by punching the Emperor so hard in the face that he fell flat on his back. He shook his hand and massaged his wrist before adding, "Hopefully that knocked some sense it you."

The Emperor lay flat on the ground and stared up at the ceiling quietly, not looking at any of them before adding, "Do whatever you want. I'm done. I give up."

 


	17. Aftermath

Tamer and WarGreymon retreated into one of the caves scattered along the shores of the Dark Ocean, fleeing from the advance of the mad creatures who pursued them. As soon as they were inside, WarGreymon used his claws to smash the rocks over the entrance, bringing them crashing down over the entrance and sealing them inside. Both of them panted, out of breath from their running but this didn't stop WarGreymon from casting blame, "Okay, that was my fault."

"Oh, you think?"

"Why did you give them the cannon?" WarGreymon groaned, positioning himself at the front of the cave as they heard the mad creatures on the other side start clawing through the rocks, "That's not going to hold."

Already their chants were beginning to reach inside, "A bottomless curse, bottomless sea."

"Give us the queen! The child of light to bear children for the lord!"

"Grant us eyes in the dark!"

"Embrace the darkness, the endless abyss that awaits all from before the before."

"I didn't think he'd realize it was a dud so quick," Tamer answered, fidgeting with his digivice, "We're going to have to hide - split up so that they can't find us!"

"Yeah, but where can we go where they won't find us?" WarGreymon asked nervously, watching his partner ran a hand through his hair, "They can reach between worlds to find us but they do that with some kind of latent psychic ability. They literally feel us but they're locked on to me - I'm the odd one out, the one that doesn't belong. We'll have to..."

He paused, realizing what he would have to do but leaving WarGreymon anxious. The rocks were starting to give and they could hear the creatures outside squealing in delight. WarGreymon took a fighting stance and readied himself as more rocks crumbled.

"What's the plan Tamer? I can see light coming through the rocks," WarGreymon pointed out. The Digimon Tamer pointed his digivice further into the cave, "RUN! Digiport Open!"

* * *

The digidestined arrived back at ShogunGekomon's Village to little fanfare as the last of the fires were extinguished and the guards began clearing out rubble in search of trapped survivors. ShogunGekomon was in the village square talking to a captured Starmon with Mimi, Palmon, Michael and Betamon. Andromon lay unconscious on the ground while Wizardmon inspected him and Izzy worked on his laptop, connected to a port on Andromon's head while mumbling to himself. Upon seeing them with the Digimon Emperor, some of the digimon cheered, "They did it! They defeated the Emperor!"

Several of the Gekomon and Agumon came forward with ropes and chains to tie him down only to be stopped by Davis, "Whoa, guys. Stop. He's had enough."

"How can you say that after what he did to our village!" one of the Gekomon said with a pointed finger, "HE NEEDS TO PAY!"

"He's paid enough," TK said to the Gekomon, proceeding to demonstrate by poking the Emperor, "Hey! Emperor! Hey! Hey! Emperor! Emperor! Hey! Hey! See, nothing! HEY! EMPEROR! HEY!"

The Emperor gave no response no matter how many times TK poked him or where, staring at the ground silently and grimly. ShogunGekomon raised an eyebrow in surprise and asked, "Is he broken?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes," Hawkmon answered, grabbing a hold of TK so that he would finally stop jabbing the Emperor, "He…went to an Ancient temple and…"

"We can't really tell you what happened but it did leave him like this," Cody finished the explanation, saying only what he needed to so that ShogunGekomon would be satisfied with the answer. Instead, ShogunGekomon narrowed his eyes, "Can't tell me or won't?"

"Can't," Armadillomon lied for his partner, "I don't think any of us know what really happened."

"Something about falling?" Yolei put a hand to her chin curiously. Hawkmon raised a feather to offer his own opinion, "There was definitely a lot of light."

"It was confusing," Kari added to the lie, as her partner embellished, "That's the Ancient tech for you. It isn't weird to walk five feet and end up thirty feet in the air!"

Veemon hadn't quite grasped what was happening and nearly blew the entire charade for them, "What are you guysh talking about? It made perfect shenshe! There wash the maze thing that wash confushing and-"

"I don't remember a maze Veemon," TK interrupted the digimon before he could finish, "I do remember a lot explosions. But that's it."

"You digidestined couldn't fool a fly into drinking a jar of vinegar," Starmon shouted at them angrily, "What did you do to the Emperor!?"

"Would you believe 'nothing at all'?" Gatomon replied, only for Starmon to roll his eyes, "Fine, be that way. Oi! Convict! What happened?"

The Emperor stayed silent, still staring dumbly at his own two feet as if they were the most fascinating thing in the world. Seeing the boy become catatonic alarmed Starmon and he looked at the digidestined with disdain, "What are you going to do to him? His crimes happened in mah jurisdiction so Imma decide his punishment here."

"Okay, first. It's not your jurisdiction any more," ShogunGekomon declared, flicking the tiny star's head, "Not after you tried to hurt the digidestined."

"We were going to take him back to our world and keep an eye on him," TK answered for them, "It's the best thing we can do for him after what ever happened. He's not a danger to anyone anymore."

"I take it this means it's back to your world, then?" ShogunGekomon asked them curiously, "The gate will close and we won't see you again until another crisis calls you back?"

"Heh, figures you digidestined cut and run when it's high time to clean up the mess ya'll made," Starmon scoffed angrily. ShogunGekomon snapped at his former security officer, "If you were given the choice between going home and never being able to return or staying here and never seeing your friends and family again, which would you have chosen?"

Izzy looked up from his laptop, "I don't think that'll be the case. It was The Tamer who sealed the barrier between worlds last time, not us. And we're still not sure how they opened in the first place. What we do know is the warning they gave us - Myotismon is coming back. But we don't know how or when or anything else that could help us prevent it."

"Myotismon? I thought you defeated him," ShogunGekomon's temperament became more critical upon learning this. Mimi folded her arms, seemingly sharing the sour mood, "So did we. But I guess Tamer decided to keep a few things from us so now we have to figure out where the hell he is."

"You still haven't found him?" ShogunGekomon raised an eyebrow. Hawkmon thumbed at the Emperor, "The Emperor said that The Digimon Tamer and WarGreymon left. He didn't say where to."

"So you'll be going to find him next?" ShogunGekomon asked them quietly. They all nodded which made Starmon scoff, "Yeah, sure. Go ahead and leave, like you digidestined always do."

"Oh shut it, spy," one of the Gekomon jabbed him in the side with the back of the spear. Starmon chuckled at the hit, more amused than hurt by the attack. He looked back at the digidestined one more time and added, "Heh, I ain't the spy. I don't know why none of you can get that through your thick skulls. Don't worry, though. Those kids'll figure out what I mean soon enough. It's all thanks until its time for the clean up. Then they cut and run, leaving us to pick the pieces. That ain't order. That ain't justice."

"What are you talking about? We just saved you guys!" Yolei said to the angry star cowboy, who continued to shake his head, "You don't get it, do ya? It's just like last time with the Dark Masters, ya'll went back to your world after all was said and done and left us to pick up the pieces. Now ya can stay and ya ain't offerin' to help pick up!"

"We have other things to do," Kari answered sheepishly, "Like find Tai...and stop Myotismon from coming back."

"And after that?" Starmon looked at them bitterly, "Are ya'll still going to stay and help clean up the damage or will you just go back to your world?"

Armadillomon scolded the prisoner, "Who do you think ya are ta' talk about us like that after all we did to help out! If anythin' you're the one who did nothin' but attack yer friends while the whole village was on fire!"

Starmon pulled on the chains that were holding him down and growled, "I was bringing you to justice for letting the Emperor attack the village! The Emperor may have attacked, but you were complicit in bringing'em here!"

"I trusted you," ShogunGekomon frowned at the star who could barely contain his amusement, "Yeah, to do the thing you was too chicken to even think about doin'. Tell me, why on earth are ya even in charge when you'd rather sit on y'er butt all day?"

"To protect my-"

"-people. Yeah, sure. Tell me somethin' Lord ShogunGekomon. Were you protectin' em when the digidestined started bringin' in the refugees? Nah, ya told me to keep'em outside - which I did. Notice the problem there? Ya asked me! You didn't do anythin'."

"Don't you dare talk to our lord that way," the Gekomon kicked Starmon hard, and continued thrashing him until Cody pulled the digimon away, "Don't kick him! It's not worth it."

"No let him," Starmon said cheerily, "That's the first time any of you Gekomon managed to act without an order. It's high time ya'll did too. I mean, ya'll were content to sit and listen to the one guy who didn't wanna do nothin' in e'erthin' that happened! If'n anythin' is true in this world, it's that digimon like me are the only one's brave enough to maintain law and order!"

"Get over yourself," Cody barked at the star digimon, still trying to hold the gecko digimon so that there wouldn't be anymore senseless thrashing. Starmon made eye contact with Cody one more time before adding, "Hmph, I like you. You got the eyes of a law man if I've ever seen one. Although are you the more peace keepin' sherrif type or the talkin' suit type?"

"What?" Mimi asked, leaning in on Starmon who fell deathly quiet after his comment. Cody felt unnerved, unsure if the comment was meant to be a veiled reference to his father or not. The Gekomon and Agumon were shaking Starmon to get him to talk but he remained silent, watching in amused joy at their wasted efforts. Starmon refused to respond or cooperate any further with anything they asked of him.

The silence ended when Andromon jolted upright and started screaming, "Systems Online! Targets detected! Activating Search and Destroy protocols! Weapons armed! Digidestined are-"

As quickly as he awoke, the android fell silent again and collapsed on to the ground. Izzy looked up from working on his laptop and sweated nervously, "Oops. Wrong command line. Sorry about that, didn't mean to terrify anyone."

Mimi put her hands to her hips and scolded, "What gives, Izzy?"

"I know, I know," Izzy said apologetically, throwing up his hands defensively just as Andromon seemed to spasm on the ground. The computer whiz sighed, "This is going to take longer than I thought. Yolei, do you mind helping me crack this code?"

"Sure, I'd be happy to," Yolei said, quietly glancing at the Emperor in wonder at how he reprogrammed Andromon so that a computer wizard like Izzy couldn't figure out how to undo it. While the two computer nerds worked, Cody looked around at the surrounding village and rolled up his sleeve, "We should probably help find survivors, too."

* * *

WarGreymon and the Tamer exited the other side of the gate into Myotismon's old castle - the former home of the Ancients. Tamer led the way into one of the lower rooms - what looked like a cross between a dungeon and a laboratory filled with all manner of equipment: computers, scrolls, books, and jars of unknown substances. After some searching, Tamer eventually found what he needed - a strange looking computer chip that he placed inside of his digivice. It was just in time too, as they could both hear the whispers in the dark that signaled the creatures were coming closer.

"The end comes, the darkness that swallows all."

"Eternity comes to nothing, and nothing is eternal."

"Tamer, they're here. What are we doing?" WarGreymon asked nervously preparing for a fight in case they showed up. Tamer handed WarGreymon his digivice and explained, "We'll have to run. They're being way too proactive and we can't fight them. Hell, we're not supposed to fight them. Hide in plain sight, that's the plan!"

"We're not the hiding type," WarGreymon sighed as Tamer took a few steps back from him. Once he reached ten paces, he explained, "Okay, WarGreymon - you remember what that is, right?"

"It's...a data absorber. Tamer, what're you?" WarGreymon asked him worriedly. Tamer stated quickly, "They're locked on to me. I'm the odd one out. They can sense me across worlds because I'm an Ancient! We have to get rid of that part of me and they'll lose the scent. After that, we hide in plain sight for a while and wait for the heat to die down. You know what to do until then buddy."

"What about destiny? This isn't supposed to happen is it?" WarGreymon pointed out. Tamer shook his head, "Screw it. If they get either of us, destiny is going to be the least of our worries."

"Tamer, you-"

"Do it!" Tamer said more anxiously, closing his eyes in silent anticipation. They could hear the whispers grow louder and closer. WarGreymon pointed Tamer's own digivice back at him and stated, "I hope this works."

* * *

It was late in the afternoon when the digidestined returned to the Real World, tired and worn out from trying to help. Against Izzy and Yolei's best efforts, neither of them were able to fix Andromon's programming and quickly realized it would be impossible without the Emperor's technical knowledge. Which would be impossible to acquire since the Emperor had done nothing but stare vacantly into space after everything he'd been through in that one day alone.

Because of his current state, the digidestined decided the one place he needed to be was with his parents. Who would be hard to find if Yolei's encyclopedic knowledge of Ken Ichijouji didn't also happen to include knowledge of where he and his family lived. They arrived to an unexpected number of press trying to get inside only to be held back by police officers insisting on protecting the family's privacy. TK was taken aback upon seeing so many people, "I guess my mom is late to the story."

"We're never going to get past all those reporters. Especially with our digimon," Cody pointed out, carefully placing Upamon behind him so that none of the reporters could see. Upamon bounced up and down disapprovingly, "I don't get it. Why are we hiding?"

"Most people in this world don't think too happily about digimon, like my mom. Especially after what happened in the past. The last thing we need is you guys ending up on the news," Cody explained to his partner. Kari sighed as the reporters began backing away, "We're never going to get past all those reporters unnoticed. They're probably the last thing Ken needs."

"I have an idea," TK said as he took off his hat and planted it on Ken's head, revealing the messy blonde hat hair he usually had. Davis snickered upon TK's hair flattened by his hat but understood what he was going for, "Nice. Here, we can hide his face this way."

Davis removed his goggles and covered Ken's eyes with them, "It's good but it's not complete."

As they were, Ken's disguise made him less recognizable but also drew more attention. Which was the opposite of what they needed to get past the police and the reporters. Mimi put a hand to her forehead and wondered, "Hey, kids. I know you're all used to coming up with plans but how about we try a back door instead? Or, y'know, a side door. Apartments all have them and it's not like there's going to be people at each one."

"Oh, right," Yolei sputtered, just as she was about to throw a coat she produced from nowhere on to the former Emperor. It only took a minute to find that door and get inside, which made the rest of their trip uneventful until they had to figure out which floor and unit his family lived in. Prodding him to get an answer was hard enough, which left them to look for the unit themselves - a quest that took a full half hour as they checked the family sign at each door. They eventually found the right unit on the fifth floor, marked by a small wooden sign with the Ichijouji name written in black sharpie.

Davis thought they should explain what had happened to the family but TK felt it better if they simply left Ken and knocked on the door. His parents would be happy just to have their son back, and wouldn't want or care to hear about anything that had happened in the Digital World. After setting Ken at the door and knocking, they retreated down the hall and watched from a corner as a woman who had to be his mom came outside and stared in disbelief at the boy, "Ken! Ken is that you!?"

She brushed her hand on the boy's cheek to ensure he was real before pulling him into a hug, "Ken! I'm so glad you're alright!"

"Honey! Is that Ken?" a man who could only be his father came outside to see them. He hugged them both happily, "You're back!"

They watched the family disappear inside the apartment, with the dad spending a second to look up and down the hall curiously before finally closing the door on them. Upamon commented, "He's done some awful things and had some awful things happen to him, so I guess it's good to see his parents actually care. He deserves a break."

"We all do after today," Yolei sighed, "And we have school tomorrow. I say we go get some snacks from my parents' store to celebrate."

"I like that idea," DemiVeemon bounced up and down excitedly in Davis's arms.

"Thanks, but I have homework I need to finish," Izzy said to the rest of them, "I can't afford to fall behind on it. You guys have fun without me."

Michael nudged Mimi's elbow, "We go back now? We in big trouble?"

"Soon," she nodded in reply.

"Come on guys, we just saved the Digital World. Let's go celebrate!," Davis groaned aloud, starting to follow Yolei back to her parents' store. He stopped when he realized the others weren't following and asked, "You guys coming?"

"I don't really feel like celebrating," Cody shook his head, "I don't know why but I feel sick to my stomach. Like we did something bad."

"I'm on Cody's side on this," TK admitted, "It's like Izzy was saying yesterday - something pushed Ken to do what he did. And now we know what it was. After how you read Izzy and Mimi, I figured you would understand how easy it would have been for any of us to end up like he did."

"But we didn't. Instead, we stopped the Emperor," Davis stated cheerily, "That's all the reason I need to celebrate."

"His name is Ken," Yolei said in his defense, turning on Davis with a frown. Davis shrugged it off, "Yeah, I still can't believe that we were fighting that genius. How about that? Rivals on the field and in the Digital World. And now that he's gone, the DigiWorld is safe!"

"Don't forget Davis. Wizardmon said that Myotismon is coming back. We may have stopped whatever Ken was doing but we don't know how it fits into Myotismon's plan…or Tamer's," Izzy reminded the boy with a hand on his shoulder. Once again, Davis shrugged it off, "And we'll worry about it when we get there. Besides, we've done okay without Kari's brother so far. I mean…um…"

Davis looked at Kari and chose his next words carefully, "I think that if he hasn't shown up yet, then it's only because he doesn't think we need his help. If anything, I think your brother would think it's cool that we're doing so well."

Kari nodded in agreement, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Davis gestured for them to come along, "So let's celebrate with snacks, guys. Come on!"

Gatomon purred excitedly and stretched, "I wouldn't mind having some fish or a glass of milk. But I'd also like a little nip."

"You worked hard today, Gatomon," Kari agreed, "Homework can wait a little bit. Let's get you guys something nice."

"It still feels wrong to celebrate when he's on his own," Cody looked back at the door quietly, "Maybe we should talk to him?"

"Take it from me," Mimi told the boy while ushering him along, "If he wants to be alone and deal with his feelings, let him. He won't hate you guys that way."

"It's that, but I'm also thinking about what Starmon said back in the Digital World too," Cody added quietly, "Starmon said that we don't help with the clean up. That we were going to leave them to pick up the pieces. We're supposed to be the digidestined, right? You said that means the children chosen to save the Digital and Real Worlds. I don't know how we're helping by going to find your brother while they're left to pick up the pieces."

"We're helping by finding the one person who has any clue what's going on," Patamon offered, "Which is what makes it so bad that he doesn't just come out to tell us already."

"You want my opinion? He's hiding because the he doesn't want to tell us what's going on," Mimi said while still pushing Davis along. Michael sighed with Betamon, "All trips to Digi World like this? Is very depressing."

"Not always," Davis put his arms behind his head with his cheery smile finally disappearing, resting DemiVeemon on his head as they walked along. He looked back, "Most of the time it's a lot of fun as we save digimon. Today was different."

"Can we hurry? I'm hungry," Poromon bounced excitedly just as they reached the door. Yolei had to cover his mouth and stated, "Hey! Be quiet! There are still a bunch of people outside. We'll hurry, but you have to remember that you're a doll."

"Yeah, I guess," Poromon nodded as they hurried outside. Just before she joined the other's outside, Mimi took a second to look back up the stairs towards the Ichijouji unit. Michael noticed she'd stayed behind and asked, "Mimi, okay?"

"Huh? Oh yeah," she nodded quietly, smiling weakly, "I was just...thinking."

* * *

As soon as they stepped inside Yolei's parents' store, Yolei's mom jumped on them happily - relieved to see that they'd all come back alive. She kissed her girl repeatedly, much to her embarrassment until she was finally able to squeeze herself out from her mom's hold, "I'm okay mom! I'm okay! Geez!"

"Yes, you are," her mom said, still squeezing her darling daughter close despite her protests, "You made it back okay! I wish you hadn't snuck out on us like that. You scared us to death when you did that, but you're back now."

Her sister took joked from the counter, "You're in big trouble sis, sneaking off like you did to go out with your friends."

"I wonder why we never get any attention like that?" another older sibling wondered while she was stocking the shelves, "I mean, it's not like she's the youngest in the family."

"Stop it," her mother told them, "You know we love you all equally."

"Yeah, just some a little more equally than others," her sister joked from the register. Yolei stamped her foot hard on the ground, "If you guys want all this attention then you can have it! Geez, I see why you ran halfway around the world, Mimi."

"This is not the reason I ran halfway around the world," Mimi noted while looking at Yolei's mom and her worry over her daughter, "I did it to go help out Pa…a friend."

Mimi paused when Yolei's older sister marched up to her, inspecting her carefully with a disapproving look and her face so close that her glasses nearly pressed against Mimi's nose. Mimi also noted a few other details but kept them to herself while the girl asked, "Hmm…you don't look like someone who'd hang around Yolei. Who are you and what have you been doing to my sister?"

"Me? I just got here," Mimi took a step back from the girl and adding, "Here's a question: what do you use on your skin? It's so soft and smooth. And I don't see a single zit or blemish. I have to know."

"Oh, well it's an all natural face wash that…I…wait, don't distract me. Who are you?" Yolei's sister's drew herself away from that line of conversation to focus on the reason she was facing Mimi, "Who do you think you are, getting my sister to run off so early in the morning? Who are you?"

"Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot. I'm Mimi," she introduced herself with an offered hand in a friendly gesture, "What's your name?"

The older sister eyed Mimi suspiciously, looking at her hand in disgust. She only took her hand when Yolei looked at her pleadingly and shook it, "Chizuru. So what's going on? First she's acting weird, then she starts coming home late, and now she's sneaking off early in the morning. Not to mention mom is freaking out."

"Well, this is just my opinion, it sounds like you should talk to Yolei about this. Not me," Mimi said as politely as she could, "Like I said. I just got here. I don't know anything about what you're taking about."

Kari whispered to TK, "This doesn't look good. You don't think they'll fight do you."

"If they do, my money's on Mimi," TK nodded quietly while Davis mumbled that he'd on bet on Yolei's sister.

"We stop fight?" Michael asked nervously, watching as Chizuru continued to make accusations at Mimi.

"Please, you look like the biggest punk here," Chizuru pointing first at her pink hair and then at her short cut clothes, "What? Can't look 'cool' in front of kids your own age so you're trying to impress kids in grade school?"

"Can we not do this, right now? We've had a long day and I don't think any one hear can deal with any more family stuff," Cody tried to reason with them only to fall on deaf ears.

"Why don't you back off and stop talking to me like I've done something wrong!?" Mimi's patience vanished in an instant. They would've kept going if Yolei's mom didn't step between them, "Chizuru, mind the register. Mimi, was it, you and your friends should get whatever you came in for and leave."

Mimi's mouth fell open in disbelief, "But we-"

"No buts. Get what you came for and leave. Right now," Yolei's mom said sternly. Mimi tried to open her mouth again but fell quite when Yolei's mom became more stern. She nodded and grabbed a bag of flavored hard candies from the shelf, prompting the others to do the same before joining her at the register. Mimi and Chizuru stared at each other tensely during the whole transaction, and only looked away from each other once one was outside.

Mimi was obviously upset and could be heard as she screamed about being frustrated. A sentiment Yolei shared when she snapped at Chizuru, "What gives Chizuru? Those were my friends!"

"Well, your friends are a bad influence. We'll except Cody. He's a good kid, but I don't know why you're hanging out with that Takeru. The kid ditched on his first day!" Chizuru reasoned, ignoring Yolei's groan, "They're not a bad influence on me!"

"Okay, then tell me what's been going on with you? And why was mom so freaked out!?" Chizuru demanded, growing more frustrated. Yolei's other siblings were now listening intently to the argument as it unfolded. Yolei frowned, "Don't worry about it, Chizuru! It's not your business. Why do you care anyway?"

"Um...because I'm your sister and I really don't need a better reason that that?" Chizuru countered pointedly, "And you never acted like this before. Is it wrong for me to worry about you when you start acting different? Tell me."

"You wouldn't believe me if I did," Yolei said loudly, their mother finally feeling the need to step between them, "Girls, please stop this."

"Does it have to do with this stupid doll of yours? Because that's when this all started! Is this some kind of weird initiation for your friends?" Chizuru snapped, reaching for the doll bitterly. Yolei tried to keep her away but couldn't hold her older sister back forever. She eventually managed to yank Poromon out of her hands so hard that the little bird yelped, "Hey! What gives!? That hurts!"

"Ack!" Chizuru gasped and dropped Poromon on the floor so hard that he gasped in pain, "Owie! Why me?"

"Oh cool, is that one of those talking dolls?" her older sister asked, "Let me guess. It's squeeze activated."

"Don't you dare!" Poromon flapped his wings and hurried back into Yolei's arms, "Yolei! Your family is mean! What's wrong with them?"

"It's...not a doll," Chizuru blinked as Poromon moved to Yolei's shoulder and started hiding behind her head, "No, I'm not!"

"You just couldn't keep your mouth shut," Yolei winced, massaging the bridge of her nose. Chizuru looked to Yolei, then Poromon, then their mom. Her mouth was wide open in surprise, stuttering nervously before shouting, "What the actual fu-"

* * *

When Mimi returned to the Ishida apartment, it was to a very upset Mr. Ishida tapping his foot impatiently with Matt and Michael. Next door, they could hear what sounded like TK's mom yelling at him for helping her and Michael sneak out earlier today. She prepared for the worst and threw her hands up defensively, "I get that you're mad. You should be. But I said I was going to help Palmon and I did. So I swear I won't be going anywhere for the rest of the time I'm here. Neither will Michael!"

"You went to the Digital World after I said no," Matt's dad said while tapping his foot, "You ran halfway across the world and put your life in danger. You shouldn't be doing this! You know your father is worried about you!"

"Is sorry leave without talking," Michael stated, "We leave early. Is to help Digital World."

Matt's dad slapped his forehead, exasperated by their behavior, "I'm not worried about the Digital World right now. I'm worried about you guys. Michael, you were supposed to be on a plane back to America right now! And Mimi! Your father is on his way here! How am I supposed to explain you guys disappeared under my nose? Michael, your parents don't know about the Digital World! What would they think if they thought they'd never see their son again without ever knowing why? And Mimi! Your dad did what he thought was best! Why can't you kids just behave for once! Geez!"

"You sound like my dad," Mimi narrowed her eyes and lowered her arms, pocketing them. Matt's dad raised his arms in disbelief, "Because your parents aren't here to call you out on how stupid you're being! Dammit you guys! It's like you don't even care about your parents!"

Michael hung his head shamefully while Mom leered back at him. Between grit teeth, she mumbled, "I don't have to care. My dad cares enough for the both of us."

Matt sighed and suggested they all go get some air to cool their heads before anyone said something they regretted.

* * *

The next day at school, Sora spotted the new digidestined walking in glumly. Matt trailed some distance behind them, obviously keeping his distance to avoid upsetting any of them. She caught up with him at the gate and asked, "Hey Matt! What's up with them?"

"Besides getting chewed out for sneaking off?" Matt answered her, brushing his hair out of his face and looking after his younger brother, "TK didn't say much but it sounds like they beat the Emperor. I guess they found out why that kid did what he did - and it depressed them."

"What did they find out?" Sora asked, raising an eyebrow curiously only for Matt to repeat, "No idea. They're not saying anything to me. I heard TK and my mom shouting last night but it went quiet and it sounded like TK was upset."

"What about Mimi? And the American...um...Miguel?"

Matt corrected her, "Michael. Dad put him on a plane back to America last night. Mimi is staying with us until her dad gets here to pick her up. I didn't ask because I don't want to be in the middle of that."

"Oh, yeah," Sora nodded, recalling the troubled life Mimi had lived since her mom's death years ago. She'd changed, that was undeniable - and it seemed like it was making life hard for her ever since. The first bell rang to indicate it was time to go inside and the two hurried to the home room class they shared in the junior high building. They took their seats just as the bell rand to signal the beginning of class. Their class president walked them through the morning now and greeting to their teacher as he walked to the lectern.

Their teacher scratched the back of his head and explained, "Okay everyone, settle down. Today, we'll be welcoming a new student into our class."

"A new student?" Sora said quietly, looking to Matt who shrugged back in confusion. They'd heard nothing about a new student and wondered who it could be. The teacher looked to the door and said, "Please come in to introduce yourself."

She tried looking out the glass windows to see who was standing out in the hall but found nothing. When the door slid open, a boy with fiery brown hair stepped inside wearing the school's green blazer over a white shirt and gray slacks. The top buttons on the shirt were undone to let the collar hang open, revealing a pair of goggles dangling from his neck. Sora rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things, then looked at Matt who was just as lost. It seemed like a sick joke to see him of all people casually strolling into the room with a backpack hanging off one shoulder.

The new student bowed at the rest of the class and introduced himself, "Hello. My name is Taichi Yagami. Its nice to meet you guys. Here's to a good school year."

Sora looked back at Matt one more time, seeing a burning anger that made him look ready to leap onto him at that moment and punch him in the face. Sora herself wanted to go over there and slap him in the face for whatever he was trying to pull but managed to keep herself in check. She was glad to see him again, but she wanted to wipe his stupid grin off his face.

 


	18. A New Student

Sora and Matt both had a hard time remaining calm with the Tamer sitting just a few desks away from them looking bored out of his mind. Any moment, they expected the class to erupt into some violent fight with digimon but nothing like that happened. Class took place normally and it put both digidestined off guard. He'd answer questions he was asked and even volunteered a few times to read passages aloud or to go up to the board to solve problems. He seemed to be just another normal student at first glance, which neither Sora nor Matt believed. When the lunch period came around, they both tried to talk to him only to see him wander out into the hallway and towards the school's cafeteria.

They both raced to catch up, and caught him in the stairwell into the cafeteria where Matt finally called out to him, "Oi! Tamer!"

Taichi stopped in his tracks to face them, and looked around in surprise. When he saw no one else there, he looked at Matt and pointed at himself, "Who? Me?"

"Yeah, you. What are you doing here?" Matt asked with an annoyed tone marching towards him angrily, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Um? Getting lunch?" Taichi replied nervously, "Is this one of those ragging on the new kids things? Because we're all kind of old for that."

"What? Tamer! Where have you been!? We've been looking for you!" Matt stopped to look over his shoulder and make sure no one else was listening before continuing, "There's a whole bunch of things going on in the Digital World and what was with that weird warning? What's going on with Myotismon?"

He seemed unaware that he'd backed Taichi against a wall, which annoyed the boy more than worried him. He pushed past Matt, bumping his shoulder and continued, "Got it. You're the crazy kid. Nice to meet you, I'll be avoiding you for the rest of the semester. Do you mind? I'm hungry and I want to get some lunch while I can."

"Tamer, wh...Tai! What's wrong? What aren't you telling us?" Sora shouted after him as he continued down the stairs. They followed him after he continued walking, ignoring his remark about their craziness and wondering what the others would think if they saw them. Unfortunately, it didn't take long to get an answer. They'd only gone half a hall when they passed by Kari, Davis, and TK's class. The expression on their faces when they saw him walk by was mixed - Kari was the most dumbstruck and would've stood up if TK hadn't placed a hand on her shoulder. He mouthed something but they couldn't tell what it was.

Taichi didn't even seem to notice or care as he continued towards the cafeteria, "So are you guys going to just follow me to lunch? If so, it'd be nice if you'd at least tell me your names."

"You know who we are Tamer," Matt said, calming his tone to avoid sounding more confrontational as they entered the full cafeteria. Taichi looked back with a scowl, "Okay. First, I have no idea who you guys are. You followed me out of class and started getting in my face over something stupid. Second, why do you keep calling me Tamer? What, do I look like I get into cages with lions? Seriously, what is up with you?"

"You really don't know, do you?" Sora asked nervously, feeling her face flush when he looked at her. She hadn't noticed before - his eyes were different. They were younger, kinder; without any of the baggage or anger that she'd seen in them before. She shook her head as he commented, "I think I've only said that twice already. Maybe three. Whatever. So are you going to tell me your names? I don't want to just keep calling you guys crazy-guy and crazy-girl."

"It's Sora Takenouchi," she bowed towards the boy.

"Matt Ishida," Matt pocketed his hands and frowned. Taichi's attitude did a sudden reversal at that news, "As in the guy from Teenage Wolves! Oh wow, I love your music. You have an awesome band."

"Oh...thanks," Matt was taken by the praise as he went on, "That one song you guys did. What's it called? Butterfly! That's your best one. I hope you guys do more like that. Anyway, let me buy you and your girlfriend lunch."

Sora's face managed to turn redder than her hair while Matt stuttered, "Oh she's not...we're not...y'know..."

"Oh, don't be shy. You'll embarrass Sora," Taichi grinned stupidly, "I mean, you guys chased me out here together. And don't think I didn't see you guys looking at each other in class. You two are into each other. If you're not dating, then you're going to be. Although, that'd definitely hurt your dream boy image with girls. Now come on. I'm starving!"

* * *

Ken Ichijouji lay in his bed with his eyes closed, exhausted and trying to dive deeper into sleep but unable to calm his mind long enough to do so. He continued to be haunted by the same faces and the guilt gnawed at him - Wormmon giving his life to help bring down Kimeramon, Sam's refusal to acknowledge him as his brother, along with his second death, the realization that any effort to fight destiny was futile on his part.

Catatonia. That was the word to describe his mental state. He wasn't well. He knew he wasn't well. But who could he talk to? Who would listen? The other digidestined? They wouldn't want to talk to him after what he'd done and he would be a fool to think he ever deserved to ask for their help. His parents were out of the question as well - they could never understand the pressure of his role as a digidestined and would only be worried if they ever found out. Worse would be if they learned about what happened to Sam in the Digital World - the idea that he'd died again after being resurrected.

He was disturbed from his thoughts when he heard a knock on the door and he quickly rolled onto his side to face away from the door. His parents came in to his room, but he wasn't ready to face them yet. He couldn't even bare to look at them, instead keeping his eyes to feign sleep. His mom's voice said, "Ken. I know you need a little time. I don't know what happened and I wish you would talk to us. However long it takes, I just wanted to let you know that your father and I are right here for you."

His dad was there too, he could tell by the way he stumbled when he tried to add something to what his mother said. But nothing came and the two closed the door on him. Knowing they were this distraught over him made him feel worse; he'd hurt them too the way he hurt everyone els. He waited silently until they left, wondering what he could say or do to make it right. Before that, he would have to understand how it all went so wrong. But when did that happen? When had his life taken such a dour turn?

* * *

Years ago, a younger Ken followed his parents back inside their apartment after the funeral. It was a busy affair, as hundreds of other parents came to bury their children. Both had been deathly quiet since then and remained so as they sat on the couch, his mom quietly crying into his dad's shoulder while he buried his face into her hair. Ken was just as lost and hurt, but couldn't dare to talk to them when he was convinced it was his fault. His parents had explained to him what happened - his brother had died after giving most of his blood to his little brother. He gave his life to save his little brother. But after seeing how devastated his parents were, he could only conclude it was his own fault.

That guilt turned his stomach and made his body heavy so that moving felt impossible. Slowly, Ken walked towards his parents and tried to hug them. They were so lost in their own grief that neither one seemed to notice he was there, which hurt him further. He pulled away from both parents and tried to talk to them, "Mom. Dad. I'm sorry."

Neither one said a word, disheartening the little not further, "I...I wish Sam was still alive."

Again, there was no reaction from either of his parents - further hurting him even though he couldn't express it. He hated feeling like this - knowing that he was responsible for his brother's death. Was their treatment punishment? Did they hate him? His eyes misted over as he spoke his mind, "I wish...I wish I was dead so Sam would be alive."

As he finished, he felt a firm hand slap his face. The pain was sharp and drew tears on his face, made worse when he followed the hand to see his mother shooting him a death glare, "Stop talking, Ken! Just..."

She paused as she broke down again, trying to reach for him with her other hand. Fearful of another slap, Ken ran to his room - ignoring both his parents as they called after him. He locked the door so that they couldn't get in, ignoring them as they knocked on the door and called his name. This cemented it. They were mad at him because of Sam. They blamed him for his death. The tears streamed down his face and he broke down, sinking to the floor as he cried for the older brother he wished he could have back.

* * *

Kari, Davis, TK, Yolei, Cody, and Izzy met with Sora and Matt after school by the soccer field. Aside from Gatomon, their digimon had to hide inside their backpacks to avoid attention. They were spying on the remarkable Tamer look alike as he watched the junior high soccer team practice, looking as if he were ready to jump in and join. Kari seemed just as ready to run over and hug him but asked, "He says he has no idea why you kept calling him Tamer?"

"Yeah, then he bought us lunch before ditching us in the cafeteria," Sora explained quietly, "We didn't see him again until class. We tried talking to him again but he left pretty quickly once school was out."

"Huh, he's kind of cute," Yolei mused with a devilish grin. Cody was the only one unimpressed and sighed, "Shouldn't we be going to the Digital World? We promised to help them rebuild."

"Can't. Soccer practice," Davis said flatly, with DemiVeemon poking out of his bag, "He has those running drills today. They're not a lot of fun."

"I think I'll be staying too," Kari added, ignoring the amused look on her partner's face. Everyone knew she just wanted to talk to her brother but serious doubts were in play as to whether or not this boy even was The Digimon Tamer. Cody tried to play the voice of reason by saying, "If he doesn't want to reveal himself publicly, then the only way to find out is to catch him doing something only The Digimon Tamer would do."

"Shouldn't be too hard. Just look for him to do something really odd," Izzy stated, "Talk about destiny or something and wait for him to slip."

Davis sighed, "Yeah, no. I'm tired of sneaking around and using these complex plans. Here, I have an idea."

Before anyone could ask, Davis produced a soccer ball from his bag and set it on the ground, "You said he knew how to fight - like karate. We'll, let's see him dodge this."

"Davis, don't!" Yolei said one second too late. He took a running start and kicked the ball straight at Taichi. At that same moment, he looked down and smiled - kneeling down to pick a coin off the ground just as the ball zipped over his head, "Alright, soda money!"

The ball continued until it bounced off the school wall, rolling along the ground until it came to a stop back where it started. Davis's shoulders slumped just as TK grabbed him to pull him back behind cover, "What were you doing, Davis?"

"I didn't expect him to dodge it," Davis frowned, scratching his head at Taichi's ability to avoid the ball without looking. Izzy wagged his finger, "I think it was a coincidence. He clearly picked something up. He probably doesn't even know we're here. If you ask me, this is childish. I'm going there to talk to him."

"What, why?" Sora asked dumbfounded. Izzy added, "I'm not going to pick a fight or ask him anything about digimon. He just looks like he needs someone to talk to."

"Whatever, let me know how that goes. I've gotta change for soccer practice," Davis said as he walked off, with DemiVeemon still poking out of his bag.

"I'll go too," Kari jumped at the chance, hurrying along side Izzy as they made their way to him. TK tried to grab her arm but was too late so he ended up running in front of her to block her path, "Kari. This about this for a second. He has no idea who any of us are. He definitely isn't going to recognize you."

"He's still my brother, TK. I'm going to see him," Kari replied defiantly, still wanting to talk to him, "Let me go."

"Kari, think about it for one second. This isn't a good idea," TK tried reasoning with her only for Kari to try and press past, "Dont try and stop me TK!"

"Just listen for a-"

"Hey guys. What's all the noise?" Taichi asked them, appearing beside them so quickly that the boy jumped in surprise. Taichi chuckled and folded his arms, "Dude, you know that's not the way to go about trying to get a girl - no means no."

"What…Ta- I mean, what?" TK stuttered in surprise, making Taichi laugh harder, "Stuttering also doesn't help make the best first impression either."

"Tai," Kari mumbled, her mouth open in awe at the sight of her brother before her. There was no grand standing or peculiar behavior. He seemed like any other normal student attending another average day at school. It occurred to her that this might have been what he was like had he never been trapped in the Digital World. He offered her a smirk and thumbed at TK, "Is this kid bugging you?"

"N-no," Kari stammered out, while her brother's look alike continued to watch her curiously. He raised an eyebrow and added, "I can see why he likes you though. You're cute."

"Wha-?" Kari's face flushed as she had no idea how to take that compliment. Not to mention that it seemed that he was hitting on her, something she was not prepared for or ever would be. Izzy and TK shared that sentiment since both of them jumped into the conversation, with Izzy adding, "Let's get off this subject before things get any weirder. So, um…it's Taichi right? I heard about you from Matt and Sora. My name is Koushiro Izumi but everyone calls me Izzy. it's nice to meet you."

"Hi, Taichi Yagami," he bowed in what could only be the most out of character moment for himself, "Cool, y'know Matt too huh? I love his music. So what do you for fun, Izzy?"

"Oh, I'm in the computer club," Izzy answered with a goofy grin that made him look at TK and Kari in surprise, "Really? I didn't think either of you would be into computers."

"Oh, we're not in the club," TK corrected him quickly, "We're just friends."

"Friends, huh?" Taichi's eyes moved from TK to Kari with greater apprehension, "Well one of your friends appears to have a thing for another of your friends but doesn't know how to handle rejection. You know what they say, she's just not that into you. And dude, she's just not that into you."

"That's not what we were talking about," TK stammered out, angrily throwing his arms down in frustration, "We were talking about...something else."

He caught himself before he let something really sensitive slip, but it only cemented Taichi's beliefs that TK had been harassing Kari. He began a lecture, "I've heard about you. It's my first day but words gets around. You're supposed to be the delinquent in the lower grade - something about making your principal bald? I don't think you're in any position to start harassing girls, otherwise you'll get kicked out of this school too. I mean, you're in a slippery enough slope as it is."

He continued his lecture, to the embarrassment of TK and Kari. Kari was obviously still flustered about being hit on by someone who basically looked like her brother, and TK was embarrassed because once again the implication was made that he liked Kari. She was his friend, at least that was how he saw it. Yes, she was cute but that didn't mean he liked her. Or at least, that's what he thought it was. He liked her but not...like that. His mind raced to process these thoughts in his head but it only made his head spin.

As a result, only Izzy noticed that Taichi had paused a few times to look at something else. Izzy looked over his shoulder to see students casually walking home for the day, many in a rush to simply escape the pressure of being at school. They were absentmindedly talking to each other so it seemed that none of them had noticed a truck speeding towards the cross walk. At least until they heard the engine, which sent all but one scattering away to the sidewalk. That lone student wore a set of large headphones and was bobbing his head to the music he was listening to enthusiastically. Izzy had to strain his eyes to see but it seemed that the driver was falling asleep at the wheel, ensuring an accident. He had to act and opened his mouth to shout but Taichi pushed him aside, "Excuse me for a sec."

He gave the soccer ball at their feet a hard kick that sent it out onto street - bouncing it off the student's back so that it pushed him off the crosswalk and bounced towards the truck. It struck the windshield and flew over the top, stirring the driver in time for him to slam his break and guide it to a stop just short of the cross walk. The accident had been averted. Izzy glanced in awe at Taichi, then at the others who were just as surprised by his kick. It also caught the attention of the school's soccer coach who shouted, "Hey you! Kid! Come down here. Do that again."

Taichi's face lit up excitedly and he adjusted his bag on his shoulder, "Awesome. Excuse me again."

He hurried down to the soccer field, ignoring the stunned expressions of the others. The coach set a ball down and instructed Taichi to score a goal against their goalie, a challenge he rose to with passion. Kari mumbled, "At least he still has his love of soccer."

"Yeah, but why can't he remember us?" TK asked curiously, pressing a question that made Kari anxious. However, that melted away to amusement when Davis ran out onto the field in his soccer uniform to see Taichi there kicking balls into the goal.

* * *

It took several hours for Ken's parents to leave his door, promising they would be there for him whenever he wanted to come out. Ken had long since stopped crying, instead silently sniffling in his now darkened bedroom. He didn't know why he ran into this room, full of reminders of his deceased older brother - a closet half full with his clothes, his bunk on the bunk bed, a desk with a computer on it that only he could use. Sam had promised to show him how to use it one day. But now he never could.

Resting comfortably on the desk was the strange device that had shown up on the day of the attack. He had no idea what it was and Sam was stumped on how it even got in their room. He had originally looked forward to learning what it was with Sam but now they never could. Then he realized something - the computer was on.

He looked at the strange glow of the display and wondered what secrets it held, then smiled when he realized Sam must've left it on. He didn't dare touch it out of worry that he may accidentally undo one of his brother's final actions, but the sound of tapping drew him closer to the screen.

He approached it slowly until he noticed an older boy with fiery brown hair staring back at him from the screen. He wore the oddest clothes - completely white robes with a hood, black pants and shoes. The look was completed by a pair of goggles atop his head that kept his wild hair out of his face. The boy tapped on the glass like a window, raising his eyebrow and wondering, "Is this thing working?"

He tapped the screen again, "I thought I had the gate connected right. Hm...Agumon, I think the new gate isn't working."

"Did you connect it to the main gate properly?" some unseen voice said from somewhere off screen. Ken wondered what movie had been playing on his brother's computer but didn't recognize it as anything his brother would've watched. He cocked his head to the side and watched the boy on screen fiddle with something, "What is this?"

"Hello? Can you hear me?" the boy on the screen asked. Ken nodded quietly, unsure of why he was answering a movie. A smile drew itself on his lips and the strange boy added, "Okay. Be careful because this next part is going to be a little weird."

The screen's glow became brighter and Ken stepped back fearfully as the light stretched out. A single shadow grew within the light and Ken saw it wrap around his hand. When the light faded, Ken's mouth fell open to see the boy who had been on his brother's screen just a moment before was now standing in his room, holding his hand and wearing a satisfied smile, "Fantastic! It worked. Brilliant. Hello, nice to meet you."

He took Ken's hand and shook it excitedly, so hard that he was certain his arm would come out of his socket. Between shakes, Ken asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm The Digimon Tamer," the boy explained with a smile, "And you are?"

"What kind of name is Digimon Tamer?" Ken asked the odd boy who just came out of his computer. The boy stopped shaking his hand, and he worried that he may have offended the older boy since his expression went flat. With a blank expression, he stated, "That's kind of an odd name. So is your name hyphenated or is it all one word? Wotkindanemeesdeejimahntehmer? I'm just going to call you Wotkin. It's shorter, easier to remember, and let's me warn you faster."

"What? No, my name is Ken Ichijouji," Ken corrected the boy. Tamer broke the hand shake, "Then why'd you tell me it was Wotkin?"

"I didn't!" Ken stated angrily at the older boy, annoyed and not in the mood for whatever was happening at this moment in time. Tamer tussled his hair and offered, "Oh well. So Wotkin. Where are we? I imagine this is a Real World?"

"Huh? Real World? What are you talking about?" Ken asked, unaware that the questions were coming out of his mouth faster than he could keep up, "How did you get out of my brother's computer? What are you? What's going on?"

"Oh, well. I'm from the Digital World, same as my partner Agumon. We were working on opening gates to the Real World through set access points," Tamer explained to him as he began pacing the room to examine the various knick knacks, "Nice antique by the way. Small and kinda slow but it got the job done. I think Izzy's was better - you could actually carry it. Oh, hello, what do we have here?"

He picked up a picture frame on the dresser of Ken and Sam at a fishing trip, "I assume that's your sibling. Nice. Which means you share a room. That's too bad. Good thing he's not here because I do have to leave and I don't want to waste any more time explaining myself. The experiment seemed to work on the out going trip. Which reminds me! We have to get back and make sure the return trip works too. Don't tell anyone I was here. Especially your sibling. I'm just a figment of your imagination."

"What are you talking about?" Ken demanded, following Tamer as he made his way back to the computer. He held out a strange device in his hand and aimed it at the screen - one that resembled the device he and his brother found. Excited, Ken asked, "What is that?"

"This? It's a digivice," he explained as if Ken had just asked him a stupid question, "Why do you ask?"

"Because of this," Ken retrieved the same device from his brother's desk and showed it to The Tamer. The Tamer seemed unmoved by it and shrugged, "Okay. Cool. It was nice to meet you Ken! Digiport open!"

"Wait, stop!" Ken grabbed onto the older boy's robe just as the computer screen lit up. This boy who had just climbed out of his computer - he had to know what the device was. It had to be a sign - he showed up the day of his brother's funeral. He couldn't just let this opportunity slip by. He held on tight to hold Tamer down but instead felt a strong force reach out to pull him forward, followed by the terrifying feeling of falling. Further and further down, wind rushing past his face as the world turned upside down and lit up with color. Ken let out a terrified scream while Tamer laughed playfully, "Here we go!"

When the falling sensation subsided, it was only because Ken was now rolling along the ground. He stopped after slamming into something large and painful, and he curled up into a ball in pain, "Ow."

It took him a moment to finally open his eyes so that he could see where they were - a large forest of some kind. The trees seemed normal enough at first, until he realized the leaves varied in color from green to purple to orange and anything in between. And the air was different. It made his nose twitch at the sensation. Beside him was the Tamer, dusting himself off and straightening his robe, "Landing could use some work. Okay, where are we? File Island. Shoot. Meant to land at the Bastion. Hmm. Where's Agumon? Oh. Wotkin. You survived."

"I said my name is Ken!" he reminded Tamer. He offered Ken a hand to help stand but was brushed aside, "Where are we?"

"Oh right. Welcome to the Digital World!" Tamer said with a crazed grin that was more unnerving than reassuring. Ken took a step back from the boy and took it all in - a digital world inside a computer. It seemed impossible that something so big could fit inside something in his room, "How does fit in my brother's computer?"

"Computer? Oh, you mean the antique," Tamer stated with a still manic smile, "We're not in your computer. I just turned your computer into a transdimensional gateway that would allow movement between parallel worlds."

"You're using a lot of big words I don't understand," Ken frowned at the older boy. He shrugged and nodded understandingly, "Yeah, but it sounded better than saying magic door - your computer is a magic door. See? It sounds dumb. Anyway, let's go find Agumon."

"What? Agumon? No, I have to go back!" Ken said frantically, "Mom and dad will be so mad at me if I'm not home. They're already mad at me."

"Nonsense, no parent could ever be mad at their child," Tamer stated, taking Ken by the hand and starting to walk, "If they did, you wouldn't call them a parent. Now would you?"

"But it's late!" Ken added, "It'll be dark soon!"

Tamer looked around them and countered, "I'm pretty sure it's like midmorning right now."

"What?" Ken looked up to the sky and noticed it was bright and sunny - clear skies directly overhead with a gentle breeze. That couldn't have been right. It was the evening just moments ago. How could it be morning? He asked, "How?"

"Oh, time moves differently between worlds. Normally they're supposed to be synchronized but I think my little experiment might have affected the flow of time. Give it a few days and they should sync back up again."

"I don't understand a word you're talking about! Could you talk normal for a second," Ken growled at Tamer, scaring the older boy into letting go of his hand. Tamer stepped back from the young boy and paced for a moment before apologizing, "You're right. You're right. Here, let me explain it this way. Think of two stopwatches, the thing people use to measure how long to do something. Well, imagine you start two of them at the same time. That means they're moving in sync - they're measuring time. Well what Agumon and I did...think of it like stopping one of the stop watches and starting it again. It wasn't supposed to do that but it is what happened. One stop watch is slightly ahead of the other. Only in this case, it's more like time isn't flowing evenly between the two time zones. It's a mess."

"You mean like that half baked explanation?" Ken raised a suspicious eyebrow. Tamer looked up thoughtfully and added, "Yeah, it's not my best one. Try thinking of our worlds as two separate balls and time is like a river. They're moving beside each other and then they enter a whirlpool so it all becomes a big ball of wibbly wobbly...timey wimey...stuff. Oh man, that explanation managed to be worse."

"Whatever! Just take me back!" Ken growled. Tamer nodded, "I will. We just...have to find a way...back. There's no monitor here. Note to self - put more of these gates all over the place."

"What are you talking about? Ken demanded, looking back to see nothing but forest behind them. He expected to see a computer display or a window, or some other connection back to his bedroom but instead saw nothing. He gasped, "Where...where's my room?"

"Yeah, like I said that's my fault. The experiment backfired. It looks like we ended up miles away from where I originally left. Don't worry, we'll get you back in time for dinner," Tamer offered encouragingly, "And then you can pretend this was all a dream."

"More like a nightmare," Ken remarked sarcastically, following after this strange boy as he continued into the forest and wanting nothing more than to go home. It occurred to him that he might actually be asleep and pinched himself in the arm to wake up. After several pinches, all he managed to do was hurt his own arm. Tamer bemusedly asked, "Is that a nervous habit? You'll ruin your skin if you keep doing that. Unless you like to hurt yourself."

"I'm trying to wake myself up," Ken replied. Tamer stopped in his tracks to face him, "Why, are you sleep walking and talking? If so, that's amazing because you had me fooled."

"This is a dream. It has to be!" Ken shouted at the strange boy who was dragging him across the world. Tamer frowned, "I'm afraid it's not. I'll get you back to your world. I promise. But you'll have to trust me first."

* * *

Kari stared in stunned silence at her brother's lucky kicks. Over the course of an afternoon, he'd managed to impress the school's soccer coach enough to place him on the team's starting line up. It would simply be a matter of getting him a uniform and training clothes for practice. The news had him excited and he was still jovial when practice was over. He hurried to reclaim his bag, which their group kept with them after he'd first run down.

"Oh, hello again. Thanks for watching my stuff. Oh man that was fun!" he grinned excitedly, "I thought you guys would've gone home by now."

"Oh, we had some things to do," TK covered for them quickly, "But we got distracted."

"Oh, well it's probably over by now. Anyway, I'll see you guys later!" He waved at them before hurrying towards the school gate. Kari wanted to go after him, certain that it was her brother but restrained herself from doing so. It was twice in the same life time that he had no idea who she was, and it somehow hurt more the second time around that it did the first. Davis joined them, still in his soccer uniform and sweating from the day's exercise, "He's amazing at this, he might even be better than me. Should we follow him?"

"No, we promised to help the digimon rebuild. Remember?" Cody reminded the goggle head, who returned the reminder with a frown. Matt volunteered, "Hey. I can take care of following him around. It's not like us older kids have been much use in the Digital World anyway."

"I'll go with you," Sora added, turning a few eyes his way, "Oh grow up guys. It's not like that. Literally the one person who should have a clue about what's going on is here and he has no clue. Something's up and we have to know what it is."

"You're right. I know we promised to help but I think this is more important," TK agreed with a nod, "I'll be coming too."

"Then I'm going too!" Kari added quickly, "I need to know why he can't remember us."

"Well if Kari's going then I'm going too!" Davis added until Yolei grabbed his shoulder, "No you don't. You're coming with us to fix the village."

"She's right y'know. Besides, I think they'll be fine on their own," Cody pointed out to the rest of them. Izzy raised his laptop in the air, "And I still need to wake up Andromon. Let's get started."

Davis began to whine in protest, "Aw, but I wanted to go with-"

"No one cares!" Yolei grumbled, dragging Davis by his collar back into the school, "We have work to do. Let Kari, Matt, and Sora worry about her brother."

"Then how come TK gets to go?" Davis whined angrily just as Yolei rounded back inside. TK turned his head to the side, "That might be the only time he ever gets my name right. Go figure."

"Why are you coming, though?" Matt shot him a sly look that made him nervous. TK did his best to avoid making eye contact with any of them as he added, "Oh, you know. Worried about a friend…that's all."

Matt continued to stare at him expectantly until Sora elbowed him and grunted her disapproval, "You guys are being stupid. by the time you're done doing whatever, Kari and I will have caught up to Tamer. I mean Taichi. I mean, whatever!"


	19. First Encounters

Sora, Matt, Kari, and TK continued to follow 'Taichi' as he made his way around town. Gatomon followed just behind them and Patamon had been tucked under TK's hat, making it bulge more than it should. They watched him stop in front of every store to examine the window displays, until he went into a near convenience store.

They would've followed him inside if Sora hadn't pointed out that it would make them more obvious. A point that was rendered moot when he came back outside holding a plastic bag full of sodas and chips. He walked straight towards them and offered it grumpily, "If you guys are going to follow me around, you could try to be a little less obvious about it."

"You knew?" Sora asked, taking the bag nervously and shying away upon seeing a scowl that she hadn't seen since they first fought the Dark Masters. He nodded and added, "Little bit, yeah. Seriously, I don't know if this has anything to do with that...Tamer stuff you were talking about. But it's kinda creeping me out."

Kari was quiet, obviously wanting to say something but too scared to do so. TK took initiative for her, "We didn't mean to freak you out, we were just...surprised."

"About what? The soccer field? What can I say? I'm just good!" he shrugged nonchalantly before adding, "Although, I think it's kinda early to get stalkers. I mean, it was bad enough when teen wolf over there cornered me in school."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Matt answered sheepishly, before adding, "You just...really look like someone we know."

Taichi patted his shoulder, "Hey, forget about it. It's not every day an up-and-coming rock star decides to stalk you. Just…don't go doing anything weird. Your girlfriend over there might get the wrong impression."

"Oh we're not-" Sora and Matt started together until stopping, embarrassed by their synchronization. Taichi chuckled to himself, his mood improving and he started walking away, "Sure. See you guys around."

Once he'd gone half a block, Sora looked at the others, "Either he's really good at faking, or he's not The Tamer."

"It is. It has to be. This is the kind of thing he would do," Matt insisted, watching the fiery haired boy managed to vanish in a crowd despite his absurd hair cut. Kari looked down at the bag of snacks in Sora's hand, "I have no idea how to tell mom or dad about this. Last time was bad enough but this time...I don't know."

Gatomon leapt onto a nearby post and commented, "The way your parents reacted, I'd say don't bother. They'll just freak out harder if they do know."

"We've kept enough secrets from them Gatomon. They deserve to know," Kari argued with her cat friend, annoyed when she rolled her eyes and pointed out, "Yes. And it's obvious that he's not going to put up with you insisting he's someone he's not. Do you think your parents will be able to avoid 'confronting' him if they ever find out that he's still alive and has no idea who they are. It'll make an already bad situation worse."

"She has a point," Sora agreed quietly, "This didn't work out the way I'd have hoped."

"I know what you're thinking," TK thought aloud upon looking at the two girls, "If he is trying to keep his distance, then I say we should just play his game for now. He has his reasons but he's never done anything to intentionally hurt us.

"Yeah, it's never his fault," Matt rolled his eyes. Patamon poked out of TK's hat and commented, "I don't know. I think that isn't Tamer. He smells funny."

"What do you mean?" Sora asked. Patamon added, "He doesn't smell right. He smells like this place."

"Gatomon, what's Patamon talking about?" Kari asked her partner. The cat turned her head to the side before answering, "I don't know. All humans smell weird to me."

"I mean he doesn't smell like a digimon. Humans always smelled like humans and digimon always smell like digimon," Patamon stated. TK patted his partner through his hat, "Yeah, that still makes no sense. Are you saying we stink?"

"No, it's just...different," Patamon struggled to put his thoughts into words. Matt slapped his brother's back and finished, "Let's talk about this while we walk. It's getting late."

* * *

Ken could still hear his parents talking outside in the living room. Both were clearly distraught and he could just make out what they were saying. His mother wondered if he had run off in frustration of the increasing pressure they were placing on him as their child genius. His father, equally remorseful, noted that his genius started showing shortly after Sam's death - in their grief, he felt they'd pressured Ken into becoming more like his brother Sam instead of letting him be his own person. When it came to it, neither parent could truly say if they knew Ken as well as they should've. This sentiment wasn't lost on Ken, as he knew he'd been keeping secrets from them.

The hard truth was that there was so much to tell and he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to admit to any of it - his adventures, his experiences, the dangers he faced, the friends he made, the terrible things he did, and his one motivation for any of it. He continued to reflect on his life, considering what brought him to this point and recalled the meeting of another like him in the Digital World.

* * *

Long ago, after days of travel in the strange world with no company but the stranger who called himself The Tamer which included a lengthy trip across the ocean on a rickety boat, they stumbled upon a long stretch of desert. In that time, Tamer had told Ken a little more about the Digital World and the device in his brother's room. It was called a digivice, an instrument that channeled raw emotional energy to manipulate the world around it. They traveled for more days under the blazing hot sun until they encountered another boy with spiky hair and a brown sweater was running towards them. Some distance behind him was a cloud of dust growing ever closer in the sand that had the boy screaming in terror. Tamer adjusted his goggles over his head and pushed Ken behind him, "Stay back."

"What is it?" Ken asked worriedly, unsure of what he was seeing. Tamer raised the hood of his robe and added, "No idea. Do you still have your digivice?"

"Uh yeah," Ken took out of his pocket, "Do you want me to do the thing?"

"You got it. Wait for my signal," Tamer began walking towards the screaming boy who could be heard shouting for help, "Help! Please! This thing! It's trying to eat me!"

As the boy caught up to them, a large red insect emerged from beneath the sand with a gaping maw. Tamer ran straight at its open mouth, facing the sharp teeth and slobbering mouth despite Ken's warnings that he run away. The creature readied to consume him whole until Tamer slid underneath the large bug and kicked it's soft underbelly, managing to hurt it despite its size. The creature stopped its pursuit of the other boy, who slid to a halt beside Ken and watched in stunned horror as the Tamer started running away from the pursuing monster - seemingly trying to draw it away from them. He stopped every so often to scoop up a handful of sand, throw it at the creature and change direction.

Every time it caught a mouth full of sand, the creature would stop and cough in protest before growling again to continue its chase. Ken awaited the signal carefully from Tamer until finally he changed to run back towards them. When he was feet away, Tamer shouted, "NOW! DO IT!"

Ken held out his digivice and pressed the button on it, closing his eyes as a bright flash of light shone towards Tamer and the giant red bug. The insect howled in pain and retreated away while Tamer turned back to face it. He ran at it again and kicked one of its mandibles hard enough to force it to the ground. Afterwards, he marched towards it and whispered something. Neither Ken nor the boy could understand what, but it terrified the creature enough to leave. It scrambled away, spreading its shell to reveal large wings and buzzed away - creating a small storm of sand and dust before departing.

Afterwards, he lowered his hood and raised his goggles, "Well. That was fun."

"Who are you guys?" the boy asked in shock, surprised that two children were able to scare away something so big. Tamer smiled cheekily, "Oh, right. You're still alive. I'm the Digimon Tamer. And this is Wotkin, but he also goes by Ken. What's your name?"

The kid stared silently at both of them, unsure of how to interpret his heroes and focusing mostly on Ken. Ken inched away from the strange boy, unnerved by the untrusting look in his eye before answering, "Ryo. Ryo Akiyama."

"Nice to meet you Ryo. Try not to get eaten again. Come on Wotkin. Let's get you home," Tamer motioned for Ken to follow and started walking. Ryo hurried after them wait, "Wait, wait. What? Tamer!? What kind of...no, do you know how to get out of here? Can you help me back too!?"

"Sure! Why not. It's not like I was doing something else," Tamer rolled his eyes, "So - which world are you going to?"

"Um...my world? What does that question even mean?" Ryo folded his arms, "Can you help me or not."

"Yes I can, but which world specifically? There's hundreds of thousands of millions of billions upon infinite worlds out there. Which one are you from?" Tamer leaned in more closely, arms crossed and wearing a curious look on his face. Ken smacked his forehead, "He's from my world. Where else would he be from?"

"Good point. Actually, how'd you even get here? I know how Wotkin-"

"-Ken-"

"-did. It was an experiment that went wrong. But how did you get here?" Tamer went on, ignoring Ken's correction. Ryo looked between them like they were crazy, "I don't know. It was Christmas and I was-"

"Christmas!" Ken spat out anxiously, "You said it'd only be a few seconds in our world! It was August when we left! How is it Christmas!? Oh no, I've been gone for months! Mom and dad are going to be so mad!"

"The hell is Christmas?" Tamer scratched his head, before shaking it, "Never mind. It still should only be a few seconds. If even that. Which raises a good question. How was it whatever you said when you got here?"

"Can I finish explaining?" Ryo eyed them expectantly. He waited a second for them to remain silent before continuing, "It was Christmas and I was in my dad's office playing with his computer, when suddenly the lights went out. Even though we didn't have power, the computer still worked and I got this weird email. I clicked to open it, then there was this bright light. And then, I woke up...here."

"It's called the Digital World," Tamer informed the boy with a proud grin, "Which is not good news for either you or us. I swear, if there's another eldritch abomination out there messing with causality again."

Ryo ignored his ramblings and turned to Ken, "You said it was August when you got here. How long have you been here?"

"A few days," Ken frowned, "I think about a week."

"How can it be a week here and months in my...our world!?" Ryo shouted at the boy, who barely looked back as he answered, "Wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey."

"What?" Ryo stared blankly at the boy now wandering away from them. Ken covered his face in disbelief and grumbled, "He says that. He never stops saying that."

* * *

Davis rolled a rock out of the door of the ruins of a tilted house and shouted, "Hey! Is anyone in here?"

When he received no answer, he closed his eyes and dropped the rock on the ground before continuing on to the next house. The digidestined without after school activities had all come to help with the recovery effort - Yolei and Halsemon ferried injured digimon to be seen for medical help, while Izzy continue working to bring back Andromon. Unfortunately, every reboot led to Andromon briefly trying to kill everything in sight. Cody watched him curiously as they went about helping to find survivors buried in the rubble although there were few and far between. He hadn't been his usual cheery self since Kari went off to follow Taichi, instead becoming quiet and reserved. Everyone noticed and Veemon had tried to cheer him up to no avail.

Cody helped to move lumber with Armadillomon, but couldn't stop focusing on the depressed digidestined. After watching Davis' sadness from afar, he eventually went to speak with him, "Davis. You've been quiet since we left school. What's bugging you?"

"Come on Cody. You and I both know you're smart enough to already know," Davis sighed quietly, sitting back onto one of the nearby rocks. Cody scratched his head in confusion, "I get it. You're depressed because Kari went off with TK to follow Taichi or Tai or Tamer or whatever, instead of sticking with you. Is that it?"

Davis's face went red, "No duh. Can we not talk about this."

"You're jealous," Cody added nonchalantly, "Because someone else is getting more attention from Kari than you. I'm not sure if that's petty, adorable or just sad."

"Okay, I'm walking away now because I am not talking about this," Davis groaned and rose up to return to work. Cody couldn't blame the boy for leaving but went after him anyway, "You can talk about this if you want to, Davis. There's no shame in it."

"Let it go, Cody," Armadillomon called after the little boy, "If he don't wanna talk about it, he ain't goin' to. Just giv'em some space and he'll come round."

"It just feels wrong to see him like that and choose to do nothing about it," Cody lamented, sighing as Davis pushed some more rubble aside from front of a door, "Any body here?"

"True, but I don't think he wants yer help partner," Armadillomon tried to explain, despite Cody's antsy steps after Davis. The armadillo sighed and used a paw to grab the little boy's leg, "Don't worry. He'll be fine. Just give him a lil' time to think."

"We are talking about Davis, right?" Cody snorted, which made Armadillomon laugh.

* * *

It was years ago when Ken, Tamer and Ryo traveled the Digital World together but there were two moments he would never forget. The first was the day he'd met his partner Wormmon. It was a curious battle during their travels to return Ken and Ryo to their worlds, where they were attacked by yet another large digimon - only this was one they'd never encountered before. A cackling, mad digimon with long spindly arms, yellow hair, bulging eyes, and spiked armor that gave it a demonic appearance. It set about attacking them and pursuing them through the vast open desert until they reached a narrow crevice in a cliff wall that they could easily hide in and away from the giant monster. Ryo peered out at it and asked, "What is that thing!?"

Tamer straightened out his robes and pushed the others further into the crevice while explaining, "Diaboromon. Must be left over from the war. That's bad. Might've gone feral without anyone to give it orders. We can't let it keep running around though or it'll cause all kinds of havoc!"

"And how are we supposed to beat something like that?" Ken asked timidly, wishing his brother were here to help find a solution. Tamer looked around them curiously with a manic grin, "Not much stuck in here besides starve to death or hope it gets bored first. There has to be something around here."

Ken and Ryo both joined in looking around the narrow crevice for something they could use against the attacking digimon, but the tight space made it difficult to look around. Every nook and cranny was filled more rocks and dirt. The Diaboromon continued trying to claw at them, gnashing its teeth at them but unable to reach them. Ken tightened his grip on the digivice and considered flashing the light in its eyes to blind it - which would at least give them a chance to escape. Tamer seemed to sense his uncertainty and held his shoulder, "It'll be alright. Just be patient."

Ken wanted to believe that but it was difficult to believe there was any hope of escaping the situation. At least until Ryo pointed up, "There!"

Both looked skyward to see a lose rock coming free from the creviec the more Diaboromon reached and crashed against the crevice wall. Tamer smiled and slapped Ryo's back, "You're a genius, you know that? Absolutely brilliant."

"Yeah, but how do we get up there?" Ryo asked, scratching the back of his head and stepping away when Diaboromon's claw almost reached him. Before he even got an answer, Tamer locked elbows with him, "Back to back. We press against each other and climb up that way."

"I don't think this is a good idea," Ryo noted with sweat running down the side of his face at the thought of climbing up the cliff wall that way. Tamer smiled at him with the same manic grin he always had, "Probably not. But it wouldn't be fun otherwise."

"What part of any of this has been fun?" Ryo asked with exasperation in his voice. Once again, Tamer answered with a shrug, "Most of it for me. I don't know about you, though. Ken, do try to keep Diaboromon's attention so it doesn't notice what we're doing. Let's GO!"

Ryo felt Tamer start climbing up his side of the crevice and quickly stepped onto the wall to help keep balance. They took their time slowly going up, leaving Ken down below to deal with the gnashing Diaboromon on his own. He whimpered in fear and stepped away from Diaboromon's ever reaching hand until Tamer shouted from above, "It's okay! Just use your digivice. It won't kill it, but it will scare if it gets too close."

Ken gripped his digivice and recalled the trick he used to scare off the Kuwagamon. There was no reason it couldn't work now, so Ken used it on the Diaboromon. The digimon scowled and hissed at Ken in protest, inching away in pain. Encouraged, Ken started walking towards the opening in the crevice and flashed the light again. The Diaboromon was blinded but continued gnashing its teeth and reaching for the boy angrily. Ken flashed the light at it once more, angering the Diaboromon further and scaring it into retreating further away. He continued flashing the light, driven by the fact that he was managing to hurt the monster that so effortlessly chased them. He didn't even care that he was coming dangerously close to one of the arms.

It was only when he'd been grabbed his leg that Ken realized the terrible mistake he'd made. His fingers clawed into the dirt, trying to hang on so that he wasn't pulled away angrily. The Diaboromon continued to gnash its sharpened teeth in anticipation of the kill, salivating as Ken screamed out in terror and regret. It only stopped its attack when a large rock tumbled down the wall and slammed into its head - flattening it against the sand. Its spindly limbs twitched and jerked for a moment until it collapsed into a hazy cloud of sand that guided the way for two orbs of light.

One of the lights guided itself towards Ken while another rose into the air. His nerves were still shaken and his heart pounded from the terrifying experience but the light didn't alarm or terrify him. Rather, it seemed to invite him to come closer. With both arms, Ken reached out to hold the light in his hands. It was cool to the touch but calming just to hold in his hands. Ken smiled, "Whoa, so cool."

"What is it?" Ryo asked, before he gasped and screamed. It took Ken seriously effort to look away from the ball of light but he did so in time to see Ryo and Tamer both dangling precariously above them. Tamer growled, "Ryo! Don't just let go! We're literally the only things holding each other up here."

"Sorry, sorry," Ryo repeated apologetically, left to look at the light longingly as if he truly wanted to reach for the one in front of him, "What is it?"

"No idea," Tamer replied, "I'll have a look when we get further down. Now come on, Ryo. One foot at a time."

It took them a little longer to climb down, during which Ken continued to play with the little ball of light in his hands. Once Tamer and Ryo were on the ground, the light faded away to reveal a large egg with a colorful floral pattern. Ken gaped in awe at the miracle that occurred before him, "Wow!"

"An egg? These things are eggs?" Ryo asked in disbelief as he stared down at the egg in his hand, "Are we holding that digimon's eggs?"

"Did we kill a mommy?" Ken asked nervously, terrified by the idea and what it meant. Ryo turned his egg over suspiciously, "I sure as hell hope not. Otherwise, I'd feel really dirty about what we just did."

"Language," Tamer reprimanded him while snatching the egg away to examine it, "But don't worry about your conscious. Digimon don't lay eggs. That's not how it works. The only way these eggs could be real is if…nah…unless…another dimensional distortion. Which would explain the headache. I thought it was dehydration. We've been in the desert for days."

"Are you going to start talking sense soon or do I have to hit you?" Ryo grumbled angrily, "It's like you enjoy being cryptic!"

"Hmm? Oh sorry, I was just…thinking out loud," Tamer thrust the egg back into Ryo's hands, "We should hurry up and meet Agumon. We need to get you guys home and I need to know where that Diaboromon came from, as well as how it turned into two digimon eggs."

He'd already started to lead them out of the crevice when Ken felt the egg in his hands shake. He looked down at it and witnessed the egg crack open. The rest of the shell squirmed and rocked until it completely split apart to reveal a little green ball with beady little eyes and a leaf sprouting from atop its head. Ken felt a mix of feelings but the strongest was adoration at the birth of the cute little baby in front of him, "Aw, it's so cute."

"Wait, what?" Tamer spun around to see the newborn digimon, barely aware that Ryo's egg was now doing the same. Tamer examined the newborn digimon and gasped, "But…what?"

When a newborn digimon burst out of Ryo's egg, Tamer's jaw fell open, "What? WHAT!?"

Two new digimon had just been born in the arms, cooing adorably at the world around them.

* * *

Matt told Mimi about the Tamer look alike who may or may not have been Tamer now spending time at their school. To say she was livid about the idea of him living a normal life at school was more than upsetting and she went to school with them the next morning to find Tamer herself. The brothers went to school a little later than normal, in the hopes that Taichi had gone in early and they could avoid the two meeting. Otherwise, who knew what other kinds of drama would result from their behavior.

Unfortunately for them, it seemed that Taichi had been running late as he hurried into school on his bike with a piece of half eaten toast hanging out of his mouth. Upon seeing him, Mimi rushed in front of the school gate to block his path and caught him off guard. He slammed his brake so hard that the rear wheel lifted off the ground as he nearly crashed into her. He probably would've if she didn't grab the bike by the handle bars and held it down. Unfortunately, the sudden stop threw his toast out of his mouth and onto the her face, "Oh man. My toast."

"Eek!" Mimi shook and pulled the half eaten breakfast off herself, frustrated that Tamer was already ruining her day. Taichi noticed Mimi in front of him with a wicked glare and apologetically asked, "Whoa, hey! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Mimi answered bitterly, moving from the front of the bike to his side, "But first tell me what you're doing going to school like some normal guy?"

"Um…doing my normal school stuff and trying not to get in trouble with my parents?" Taichi answered with a raised eyebrow, "Geez, first Ishida and now you. Is everyone at this school crazy?"

"She doesn't go here. She's just a friend," Matt said as he joined them and tried to pull Mimi away, "Mimi, calm down. This isn't the time or the place."

"Well I see how you two could get along," Taichi remarked mockingly, dismounting his bicycle so he could walk it to the bicycle rack, "Anyway, I'm running kinda late so if you don't mind."

"You're not going anywhere Tamer!" Mimi declared, pointing an accusatory finger at him, "Not until you tell us what's going on!"

"A detention if I don't get to class," he replied quietly while he strung his bicycle lock through the spokes. Mimi continued to fume at his dismissals but took a deep breath to try and speak more calmly, "Okay…let's try this again. What are you doing here and why are you pretending you don't know anything about the Digital World?"

He finished locking his bike and looked at her, "Because I really have no idea what you're talking about. I'm also late for class so if you don't mind, I'm going to get going. Unless you're going to start asking me weird questions too."

The smile he gave took her off guard, as if none of what just transpired bothered him. Of course that was nothing compared to the compliment he was about to pay her, "You know, you're cute too. It's just a shame you're nuts like Matt. See ya."

He turned to run inside while she stood with a beet red face. She was too furious for words, and was certain he was mocking her. She looked at Matt for answers, "What's with him?"

"We're trying to figure that part out," TK stated, having watched the whole thing from a considerable distance away. He checked the time and nudged his brother, "We'd better hurry inside too before we get into trouble too."

He said this just as the bell rang and buried his face into his hand, "What is with my luck?"

* * *

Ken could never forget the wonder and awe he felt when he first met his partner, although it took a while for the little digimon to be able to speak enough words for the two to communicate properly. And even then, most of their discussions came down to the little digimon wanting to learn more about the world. All the little bug digimon knew was its own name - Leafmon.

The two hit it off almost instantly, as they both learned more about the Digital World together - both the beauty that could be found in its strange alien life and the terror it could instill at a moment's notice. Their relationship was much better than Ryo and his digimon - a little blue ball with a little appendage on its head called Chibomon. Whereas Leafmon was curious and playful, Chibomon was mischievous and teasing - which led to the two often butting heads.

But the most wondrous and terrifying thing they found was a decrepit old castle atop a mountain crag surrounded by fog. The sight was something none of them had been prepared to see except for Tamer who remarked, "Home sweet home."

"You live there? Okay, you're the bad guy. How could I be stupid? It's obvious you're the bad guy!" Ryo grumbled as Tamer led them inside, "Calm down. It's a fixer upper. I just kicked the bad guy out. Anyway, come on."

"Ken," Leafmon asked, "Can we trust this guy?"

"No, but he says he can get us home," Ken said quietly, "What choice do Ryo and I have?"

"Famous last words," Chibomon remarked as they followed the crazy haired boy inside. The castle was just as old and decrepit on the inside as it was outside, watched over by massive stone gargoyles that were as intimidating as they were ugly. The most curious room within the castle was a large, nonsensical room that Tamer had to guide them through with held hands so that they didn't get lost. And traversing the pathway involved jumping off bridges, walking sideways on walls, upside down on the ceiling at some point, and even backtracking. Although Tamer insisted it was necessary to traverse the room, Ken couldn't help but feel he'd gotten lost.

Once they were past it, they exited out into a small dark room that housed a single computer monitor illuminating an orange dinosaur. It sat upon a chair, quietly eating a plate of tacos until it noticed them, "I was wondering when you'd get back, Tamer. I was getting bored. Oh…you brought guests. I wish you would have told me. I would've made more tacos."

"Yeah, I'll be sure to let you know the next time I have to walk back from File Island," Tamer frowned as he took a seat at the computer terminal. The dinosaur whistled in amazement, "No wonder it took you so long. So, who're your friends?"

"Agumon, these are Ken, Chibomon, Leafmon and Ryo. Guys, this is Agumon. He's my partner and best friend."

"Hi!" Agumon said with a mouthful of food. Chibomon asked, "What was that about more tacos? I'm hungry!"

"Me too," Ken added sheepishly. Agumon stood up with his plate in hand and said, "Gimme a second to get to the kitchen. It's on the other side of this castle. I'll make some more tacos for you guys."

"So what is this place?" Ryo asked once Agumon was gone, "And when can we go home?"

Tamer sat at the chair Agumon was on and typed away on the keyboard to manipulate the screen, "It's an old dimensional monitoring station. It helps us to monitor the boundary between worlds to prevent breaches in the individual world's integrity. I can send you home. Just let me deal with this real quick."

The screen changed from a random string of letters and numbers moving across a black background to an image of what looked like their world along side another world. With each key press, the worlds became warped and twisted, expanding in some places and shrinking in others until they each resembled balls of spikes. Tamer groaned upon seeing it, "Well…that's not good."

"What is it?" Ken asked, looking up worriedly at the screen and noting that Japan appeared to have vanished. Tamer ran a hand through his hair and explained, "I think I know how it's Christmas in your world when it's only been a few days. Time and space have been warped more than I thought. The Digital World and the Real World are more out of sync than they should be. And there's two strong concentrations of entry points - one on File Island and the other on the Continent of Folder."

"Great, y'know what's going on," Ryo rolled his eyes and impatiently added, "Now can we go home?"

"Well…you may not want to right now," Tamer frowned, "With reality this warped…there's no telling if sending you through the gate will take to the Real World. Or if the Real World you arrive in will be the one you left. I hate to say it but...you guys are stuck here until we can sort this mess out."

"We? What's this we?" Ryo demanded, "I want to go home."

"Well, you can't. Sorry," Tamer's apology seemed half hearted, made the worse by his half shrug.

"But what about our parents?" Ken worried loudly about his family, "They're alright, aren't they?"

"I don't know," Tamer replied, continuing to work on the monitors, "But it would explain why my experiment to open up additional gates between worlds failed. Whatever is causing all these disturbances seems to be coming from both of those locations. We'll need to investigate if we want to fix the gate between worlds."

"We? What's this we stuff? Why do we have to do anything?" Ryo asked grumpily to which Tamer remarked, "Because it's just as much your problem as it is mine. I can't send you home until it's fixed. So you guys help me out, and I'll send you home. Then, I don't ever have to talk to you again and I can get back to my work."

Both kids looked down at the digimon they were holding in their hands, then looked up at Tamer. Both were uncertain of the only option they had - help out a kid they barely knew to save their worlds. Neither felt comfortable with the danger they had to face being thrust upon them. They were so unprepared and surprised that they didn't hear Agumon return holding a plate of additional tacos, "I'm back. What's wrong with you guys? I thought you were hungry."

"I don't like this," Chibomon nodded, "He seems shifty."

"I'm right here and I can hear you," Tamer folded his arms in annoyance, "Seriously, you could at least try to whisper."

"Yes, I could," Chibomon smiled devilishly, knowing that he'd annoyed Tamer as much as he'd annoyed them today. Ryo sighed in defeat and answered, "If it gets me out of this, then you can count me in!"

"Ken. What do you think?" Leafmon asked. Ken looked between his partner and Tamer, unsure of how much more adventure he could take before he was allowed to go home. He sighed, "Count me in too."

"I'll make some more tacos for the trip," Agumon said cheerily before he left the room, taking the plate of tacos with him. Ryo's stomach growled and he added, "He could've at least left the tacos."


	20. Ken's Revelation

Joe hurried to the joint middle and elementary school just as the school day ended. He had to leave high school right away, and was certain he was going to get in some trouble with his parents for not going straight to cram school, but this matter took priority. Being here brought back a lot of uncomfortable memories of school life that he'd prefer to forget but all that went away when he saw the other digidestined - Sora, Matt, Mimi, Izzy, TK, Kari, Davis, Cody, and Yolei. They were assembled just outside the school gates and waiting for him to get started. The younger digidestined held their partners in their arms like dolls, which made them an odd sight given they were all too old to still be playing with them. To Joe's amazement, the digimon seemed to be struggling to maintain the act and squirmed uncomfortably.

"Just in time, Joe," Sora commented as he met with them. He gasped for breath and adjusted his glasses, "I'm going to be in trouble with my parents for skipping cram class. Anyway, I got your guys messages. All of them. I swear, it's like you guys are obsessed. Anything new happen with him?"

"Besides the fact that he's a total jerk who's blowing us off and pretending he doesn't know any of us?" Mimi scowled with crossed arms. Sora placed a hand on her shoulder and added, "What Mimi means is that we haven't been able to get him to react when we call him The Digimon Tamer. He just keeps saying he's Taichi Yagami. And I'm pretty sure he thinks most of us are crazy."

"He's the crazy one!" Mimi stamped her foot.

"We've each approached him in our own way but none of us has made any progress when it comes to figuring out what's going on," Izzy stated quietly, "Whatever he's doing, he's either playing it very close to the chest and doesn't want to tell us or this person really isn't Tamer. And we need to figure it out soon. We need to be ready for Myotismon if he ever shows up."

"Has anyone tried talking to Tamer as if he were Taichi?" Joe asked curiously and amazed that all seemed taken aback by the idea. Joe scratched his head, "Well, I guess that won't do us much good. Tell you guys what. I'll go talk to him and see what I can fish out. Without you guys. The last thing I need is him being suspicious because he sees me with you guys. Where is he now?"

"At the soccer field," Yolei pointed back into the school, "He's in the middle of practice right now."

"Guy showed up, impressed coach and he decides to put him on the middle school boys team," Davis grumbled quietly, "Speaking of which, we got practice today - both the middle schoolers and elementary. So, I'm going to get going. Do you want to watch, Kari?"

"No, not today," she hung her head apologetically and explained, "It's too hard to deal with looking at him right now. Tai I mean. I'm going to go help out in the Digital World."

Davis's enthusiasm died with her response, but he nodded in understanding before disappearing to the locker room to change. TK crossed his arms and added, "We weren't in the Digital World yesterday to help, so it's only fair that we go today instead."

"You're right," Kari nodded quietly. The other older digidestined agreed to come as well, with Izzy explaining, "I'm sure we all want to help after what Starmon said. Besides, I'm still trying to figure out this they could used on Andromon. I don't what the Emperor did to him but it's almost impossible to figure out the code."

"Well the more the merrier, right?" TK said with an energetic grin. Yolei stepped back, "Actually, I was thinking I'd go check on Ken today."

"That was the Emperor's real name, right? Ken Ichijouji?" Joe asked curiously, "I heard that he'd been found after his parents called the police, but that he hasn't been seen since. He cancelled a few public appearances, dropped out of his soccer team, the chess tournament. He hasn't even been seen at school and his parents won't say why. They just keep saying he's fine."

"Wow, Joe. Never figured you to be the type of person who followed celebrity gossip," Sora mused of the boy before he could reply, "What? No, I don't. It's just been on the morning news every day this week."

"You worried about your boy crush?" Mimi teased the younger girl, "A little. He was…pretty broken up after what happened. He didn't say a word to any one."

"Guy almost killed himself," TK added absentmindedly, looking specifically at his older brother as he thought about the Emperor's reason why. Matt returned the gaze with a confused eyebrow - none of the younger digidestined had told the older digidestined specifically what happened at that temple. TK could only imagine his older brother losing his cool over the Emperor's reason. However, his choice of words left them somber as if they'd been told anyway.

"We should get going," Cody said to try and change the subject. Matt pocketed his hands, "Yeah, we'll go with you guys and help out anyway we can."

"I'm staying here," Sora added, "I want to be around in case Joe manages to get something out of him."

Joe refused her, "No. the last thing we need is him not wanting to talk to us."

"Well too bad," Sora put her hands on her hips. Joe was cowed by her stare and the others laughed in amusement.

"I'll get going too then," Yolei said, waving at them, "See you guys later."

* * *

Joe walked over to the soccer field, with Sora trailing a few paces behind him, where they saw Taichi running laps with the other boys on the team. As energetic as he was yesterday, today he seemed out of breath but it didn't wipe away the joyful smile on his face. They sat on the bleachers at the side of the field, where they found another unexpected guest carrying a box full of towels - Davis's older sister quietly clapping and cheering the team on in their practice. Upon seeing them, she raised a curious eyebrow, "Oh, it's you guys. What are you doing here?"

"Oh, you know," Sora thought quickly, "Just here to watch the boy's soccer practice. What about you?"

Jun put her hands on her hips and frowned, "Don't try that with me. What's really going on? It's about those digimon again, isn't it? What's going on? They're not here in the school are-"

Sora and Joe both covered her mouth before she got any louder or said anything else. Sora shushed her, "Not so loud! You'll make a scene!"

"If those monsters are here, we need to evacuate everyone in the school!" Jun said through Sora's hand, "What are you guys doing!? We need to warn everyone!"

"No one's in trouble!" Sora whispered, trying to keep Jun calm, "We're here because...well, do you remember that one guy we talked about? The Digimon Tamer? You know, the one who's probably the only one with any clue what's going on?"

Jun nodded upon recalling how he shined a light in her eyes, wincing in silent frustration. Sora took that to mean she could continue, "Well, we think he's here. We're not sure. We're still trying to figure that part out. And we need you to not make a scene while we do that."

She removed her hand from Jun's mouth once she finished, and the girl took a deep breath to calm herself down, "You think he's here? Where?"

"You already met him. Remember. That day at Kari's apartment?" Joe said to jog her memory only to be met a sarcastic, "It was years ago. I don't remember all of it and I don't remember even talking to the guy. I mean, I yelled at him for shining that light in my eyes but…never mind, who is it?"

"Him," Sora pointed out Taichi on the field as they lined up at the center field to kick balls into the goal. Jun did a double take as she swapped glances between him and Sora, "Him? You mean the cute guy who joined yesterday?"

"Yeah," Sora nodded, "That's him. Wait, cute?"

"Yeah, he's kinda cute," Jun said again dreamily, "I mean, I'm not into sports like soccer but I wouldn't mind going to a few of his games just to watch him play. Huh, didn't think I'd see that jerk again. Or that he'd be cute."

"Well, we're just going to watch and catch him after the game is over," Joe stated, setting his bag down on the bleachers and looking out just as Davis and a handful of other boys from the elementary school's team ran out for practice. As they were later than the others, the coach had them start doing laps to warm up before he even thought to let them start shooting.

Watching them play brought back memories of when Sora used to play soccer - although this wasn't the case any more. Recently, she'd grown more fond of tennis but that didn't mean she didn't still think about soccer every once in a while. However, as time passed, she felt more awkward playing it around a bunch of boys and was hurt to see that other girls in her grade were losing interest. There were times where she wondered if she joined tennis just to fit in, but this didn't mean that she didn't like the sport.

Sitting here watching the boys play, she wondered how many of them thought that she was here to check them out - which became depressing when a few tried to put on a show for any girls watching. On that same note, she looked over at Davis's older sister and wondered if that was her reason for being here, "So…do you like soccer?"

"Not a big fan," Jun replied, "But like I said, I don't mind watching a few cute boys every day. Even if it means I have to baby sit my brother. So I figured, why not be the water girl? Get them water, towels, and cheer 'em on every once in a while."

Sora was right, she was here just do that.

* * *

Ken continued to lay in his bed, wondering why he'd ever agreed to go with Tamer on their curious adventure to save the Digital World. It had been his only way back to the Real World at the time but he wondered if he would have been able to find a way back if he hadn't. There probably would have been a way with how odd the Digital World was, with the many ways it could defy either sense or logic.

Their travels took them to different corners of the Digital World, where they closed the tears in reality and corrected and distortions that had appeared. With each location they traveled to, they met stranger digimon - a clown, a puppet, a machine, a serpent, a demon, a monkey, a vampire, and more. Each one recognized Tamer and Agumon, musing over what possible role Ryo and Ken would play in the future. They would always state that there was no other reason for The Digimon Tamer and Agumon to be near them.

With each battle and each hardship, Ken grew closer with Wormmon while Ryo and Veemon simply learned to tolerate each other. It was made all the better when their relationship developed enough that their partner's gained the ability to digivolve. While Wormmon was cute and adorable, his digivolved form of Stingmon was somewhere between cool and intimidating. And as the two battled together, they learned how to work together in tandem - making the pair a force on the field.

It didn't take long for them to learn that the root cause of the disturbances was a wild digimon - one known as Milleniummon whom Tamer described as a digimon from before time. It was another of his poor wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey explanations that made no sense but it was the only one he offered them. The cryptic answer left both Ken and Ryo uneasy as the words of their defeated enemies' haunted them long after they were defeated. However, Tamer and Agumon both always managed to assure them that this was simply the way things were meant to be.

When the time came for them to finally face Milleniummon so that he wouldn't open any more holes in reality, the battle brought them into a dark void that Tamer said was two minutes to the left of the future and thus outside reality. None of them knew what that meant, but they knew they had to stop Milleniummon. What followed was a battle on a scale neither Ryo, Ken, Veemon or Stingmon could scarcely comprehend. They knew they were fighting Milleniummon, but the battle took them to places they never could have dreamed - where sight and sound blended together to become an abstract mess that would drive any normal person insane. But everywhere they went, there was Milleniummon - and they always fought him.

Ultimately, it would be Ryo and his partner who dealt the killing blow to Milleniummon, impressing the digimon enough that it cursed Ryo with it's final breath, "You have taken my life. But you will be the harbinger for my return. I will make you my herald!"

Milleniummon's death was unlike the other digimon they'd defeated - where he slowly dissipated into a cloud of data. It was violent expansion of color and light that was blinding in this void of darkness - scattering small black specks at them. Upon seeing the specks come flying their way, the respective digimon went to protect their partners. In that moment of focus and fear, Ken realized most of the specks were focused on Ryo - and he moved to save him by pushing him out of harm's way, "LOOK OUT!"

"KEN! WAIT!" Stingmon gasped in panic, too late to stop his partner from being harmed by spores, "AH!"

He spared Ryo being injured and put a hand to the nape of his neck where it hit him. There was no blood, but the pain he felt was real - his entire body burned and he contorted in agony. But his effort to save Ryo, also endangered him. In that moment when Milleniummon perished, the dark void around them came to life with sparks of light and color. But the lights pulled each of them in, sucking them close to consume them - Ryo especially who'd been pushed closer towards one of the lights than the rest of them. He screamed in panic as it pulled him away but Ken was unable to help him that time. Ryo's partner tried to reach for him but was unable to escape the pull of the light that ensnared him away. The void howled and roared, with Stingmon struggling to shout over it, "What's happening?"

"We're being pulled back into Reality!" the Tamer shouted, "Everyone hold on! WarGreymon!"

His partner's mega level form grabbed a hold of Tamer before zipping to catch Ryo's partner in his champion form, "Hang on!"

"But Ryo!"

"It's too late for him! And it will be for you too if you don't hang on!" Tamer shouted, holding to WarGreymon with one hand and reaching for Ryo's partner with the other, "Take my hand!"

Ryo's partner looked into the light where Ryo vanished and frowned, "I can't! I have to save him!"

He used WarGreymon to push himself towards the light, only to be stopped by WarGreymon, "I'm sorry! But we can't let you! Tamer!"

"I'm already set," Tamer adjusted his goggles over his eyes and produced an odd device in his hand. On his signal, WarGreymon stabbed Ryo's partner in the chest. The digimon stared back, eyes wide open in shock and mouth silently hanging open before he disappeared into a cloud of data. Ken had become accustomed to the pain of the spore long enough to see this happen and shouted, "What are you doing!?"

"What we have to!" Tamer replied, before using the strange contraption in his hand to absorb the data that came from Ryo's partner. When all the data had been absorbed, the pair flew towards one of the lights at an angle - using its pull to gain enough speed to sling shot around the light and back towards Ken and Stingmon, "Wait! Don't hurt us!"

"We're not!" the Tamer shouted, holding out his digivice, "Digiport open!"

There was another flash of light that Ken felt himself get sucked in with Stingmon. Stingmon grabbed the boy and assured him, "Don't worry! I'll protect you!"

They screamed and panicked as the two fell together into the light, emerging on the other side in the same sandy desert where they first met Ryo. Ken hit the ground hard, and it made the pain come back just as hard as it had the first time. It spread all through out his body and came out as an agonized groan. Stingmon cradled the boy in his arms, "Ken? Are you alright?"

"He's not. It's the dark spore," Tamer explained, appearing beside them with WarGreymon and making their way towards them, "It's infecting him - feeding off his negative emotions. Sadness, fear, shock."

As he drew near, Stingmon stepped back from him, "Stay back! I won't let either of you near him!"

"We need to help him," Tamer stated plainly, "If we don't…he'll be in a lot more trouble than he is right now."

Stingmon scoffed at the mention of the idea, "Help him? You mean like how you helped Ryo and his partner? Forget that! Stay away from us! Stay away from _him_!"

Before Stingmon could think to flee, WarGreymon zipped around to position himself behind the bug digimon. Although he didn't raise his claws, Stingmon understood his intentions. If Stingmon tried to flee, WarGreymon would stop him. This didn't mean the mega level digimon couldn't try to reason with him anyway, "Stingmon, let _us_ help before Ken is hurt any more than he already is."

Stingmon hesitated, briefly considering it he could possibly hope to outmatch WarGreymon in either a contest of speed or agility. He'd never be able to outrun WarGreymon because of his speed and outmaneuvering him would be impossible due to his experience. Stingmon had never considered it until now but the gap in strength between them was enormous. Even still, the idea of letting either of these two near Ken worried him. Not after what happened to Ryo or his partner.

Ken writhed in pain and shifted uncomfortable but was still able to summon the strength to ask a simple question, "Why? Why did you-"

He couldn't finish as the pain came back even stronger. Stingmon knelt down beside him, unsure of what he could do to help his partner. Both Tamer and WarGreymon looked at each other nervously, nodding some unspoken communication to each other before Tamer raised his goggles to uncover his eyes, "Try to understand. There are some things we can't tell you right now. Or ever. Secrets that have to remain secrets."

"Secrets? What secrets!? I thought we were supposed to be friends!" Stingmon said accusingly, his eyes narrowing in silent disbelief at the two. This time WarGreymon answered, "If we told you everything, they wouldn't be secrets. But we promised not to keep so many, that we'd only tell who needed to know what they needed to know when the time came."

"What?" Stingmon asked accusingly, while Ken choked out, "Where's Ryo!?"

WarGreymon was unable to answer the question and looked to Tamer to do so, "Ryo's destiny…it isn't here, with us. He's going to do so many other things, but he can't be bogged down here if he's going to do what needs to be done. It's the same for you - it'll be rough. And some things will happen that you won't like. But you have to do it. Please…just trust us."

"After you hurt Veemon?" Stingmon asked sarcastically, "Sure! We trust you one hundred percent!"

"What happened to Veemon?" he asked. Tamer revealed the strange device he used to absorb the data, "Saved. His data is stored and we can bring him back to life whenever we choose to do so. We couldn't let him save Ryo though. It would have interfered with his destiny."

"That's...that's what the bad guys were talking about," Ken whimpered through the pain, "They were warning us, weren't they? You're the real bad guys!"

"We're really not," Tamer remarked with an amused smile, "We're just a couple of idiots trying to help out."

"By using us?" Stingmon asked in disbelief, which had both Tamer and WarGreymon reply defensively, "By doing what we have to do to make sure you do what you're supposed to do."

"What?" Ken gasped out, still struggling through the pain. Tamer's answer did nothing to put them at ease, "It was to save the Digital World, your world. All of reality. But more importantly, it was to make sure you followed your destiny. Kay, y'know what? They were right. This mysterious secretive stuff is kinda stupid. So I'm just going to tell you: The Digital Wold and Real Worlds aren't entirely safe just yet and there's still a lot more you both have to do to save it. It's your destiny to do those things. You'll have help, you won't be doing it alone. But that is what you have to do."

"And if we refuse?" Stingmon asked curiously to hear their answer. Tamer gestured to the sandy desert around them, "Then the Digital World, the Real World, every one you know and love across all of reality will perish. That's the fate of reality if you don't follow your destiny."

A moment of silence followed as Ken and Stingmon looked between The Digimon Tamer and WarGreymon, angered and enraged at their perceived powerlessness. Who were they to dictate what they could and could not do with their lives? Why should they go about following the destiny that had been planned for them? They could do whatever they wanted, no matter what it was. And for Ken, all he wanted at that moment was to go home to his family. He clutched the digivice hard in his hand and shouted, "NO!"

"We're leaving," Stingmon held the boy close and took off as fast as his wings would let him. However, WarGreymon quickly moved in front of him to cut him off, "Sorry. We can't let you leave."

"Yes, we can and we _will_ ," Ken grunted through the pain, pointing his digivice at the Mega level digimon. All it took was a press of a button for the bright flash of light to startle WarGreymon. The digimon recoiled in shock, "AH! OW! Is that what we've been doing to digimon? Wow! We're jerks!"

"WarGreymon! They're getting away!" Tamer shouted out as Stingmon zipped past, flying as fast as he could to put distance between himself and their pursuers. Ken went through his digivice, looking for the feature - the one thing Tamer always used to let them escape, to travel away from wherever he was. With each new feature he found, the more he realized he didn't really understand how his own digivice worked. Eventually, he just started using each feature in order, "Digiport Open!"

When nothing happened, he tried again with the next. Again and again in fear that WarGreymon would soon collect himself. On the seventh try, he shouted, "Digiport Open!"

A bright light appeared in front of them - another tear in reality like the one Tamer made just moments ago. Ken didn't care where it went, as long as neither Tamer or WarGreymon could get to them. Stingmon knew what to do and flew straight into the light, unaware of the cold shores and twilight world that awaited them on the other side. As soon as they passed through the light, it vanished and stranded them at this desolate far away from either Tamer or WarGreymon. The world was eerily quiet, devoid of any sound or life. Even the wind was dead and the waves crashed silently as if the world would not allow it.

Ken and Stingmon waited a moment to make sure neither Tamer nor WarGreymon had followed. When nothing happened, both breathed a sigh of relief that vanished when they considered their new situation - lost in another world perhaps father from home than they'd intended. But at least Tamer was gone now.

" _This is all their fault. None of this would have ever happened if they didn't drag us into this,_ " Ken thought to himself as he looked around at the ocean. The pain had vanished by some miracle and it seemed fate was smiling down upon them. Stingmon set him down on his insistence and Ken surveyed this cold, desolate world with fascination. Everything about this place felt wrong - yet he felt more welcome and comfortable here than he had anywhere else in a long time.

" _To hell with The Tamer and to hell with his destiny,_ " he thought again to himself, " _This place…this is mine._ "

He shook his head as he felt his own thoughts splinter from his own wishes. The voice and thoughts he had in his head didn't seem like his own. Yet there they were - he wouldn't be used ever again. If it was his destiny to save the Digital World and the Real World. Then he would. And he would do so in violation of this thing the Tamer called destiny. He looked out onto the waters and the thoughts came into this mind rapidly.

" _This is where it'll begin._ "

" _The Digital World will be mine_."

" _I can make it better. I can make that insane world break."_

 _"I'll make it do what I want it to._ "

" _How's that for destiny, Tamer? WarGreymon?_ "

" _There is no destiny but the one I will make for myself!_ "

Ken looked down at his dirtied hands and clothes, then to his digivice which had been worn from their many adventures. He approached the silent waters and dipped them into it, trying to wash off the muck and the dirt while ignorant of the changes his digivice underwent. The moment it sank beneath the waves, the digivice expanded and grew in size until it was warped into a new shape and a new color. Once Ken was certain he was clean, he pulled out his hands and saw the change his digivice had undergone. It was new, different. And he gripped it between his hands as if it were something precious to be protected, " _The Digital World. The Digimon Tamer. WarGreymon. They can't take this from me. They can't take this from us._ "

He looked back to his partner staring at him worriedly and something else he didn't expect - Tamer and WarGreymon again standing just behind him. He had no idea when they got there, but it didn't matter now. Tamer commented, "You don't want to stand with us, do you?"

"No…I won't let you use us the way you used Ryo and his partner!" Ken stated, feeling an untold anger he'd never had before. Tamer looked over his shoulder at his partner, WarGreymon as he stared at the boy, "We're just trying to make sure you do what you're supposed to."

"Oh, I'll do exactly what I'm supposed to," Ken stamped his foot on the sand, "You want us to save the Digital World? Fine! WE WILL! And we'll do it without you!"

"You can try," Tamer stated angrily, "But don't think we'll ever let you do something you're not supposed to."

"Don't worry, I will," Ken assured the boy, "Then...I'll come for you! I'll stop you so you don't do this to anyone else! Even if it means we have to _kill_ you!"

Tamer scoffed, trying to hide a smile that was forming across his face, "Better than you have tried."

"Tamer, we need to stop this," WarGreymon looked at his partner urgently, but Tamer waved him off and produced his digivice, "It's alright. He's made his choice. We're going to do what we have to. And if it means we'll have to fight then so be it. Let's go. Digiport Open."

* * *

As practice ended for the day, Taichi walked over with Davis. The younger goggle head was still as awestruck by Taichi's kicking ability as he was yesterday and hoped to learn as much as he could from him. For his part, Taichi seemed willing to offer a few pointers but really had nothing more to say beyond simply continuing to play and practice as much as he could. Something Davis would be more than willing to do with his free time.

Jun passed out the water bottles and towels as she said she would, throwing one into Davis' hand and gently offering another to Taichi. Davis was put off by his older sister's treatment but Taichi did steal a few side glances at her as they made their way back to the locker room. Taichi wiped his face off with a towel and asked, "So who's she?"

"Her? Oh that's my sister - Jun," Davis answered with a scoff, "She's…okay, I guess."

"She's kinda cute," Taichi looked over his shoulder at her, "I know we just met but you mind puttin' in a good word?"

"Wait, what?" Davis shook his head in disbelief, "You like her? No one likes her! Who are you and why do you want to-"

Taichi shut him up by throwing the towel in his face and adding, "Calm down Davis. What, you don't think your sister is a cute person?"

"NO!" he pulled the towel off his face, "She's my sister! That's gross."

"Never mind," Taichi smirked, deciding that he'd teased Davis enough for now. After he finished changing, he went outside to find Davis already leaving with his sister. He was disappointed that he didn't get a proper chance to talk to her, but that fear was assuaged when he was approached by an older boy wearing a high school uniform and glasses, "Hi there, Joe Kiddo."

"Don't remember asking, but nice to meet you," Taichi replied with a smile, "Taichi Yagami."

"Saw your game," Joe adjusted his glasses and continued to smile.

"It wasn't a game. It was practice," Taichi nodded as he continued walking, noting that Joe was following along. He began to wonder if everyone in this community was odd or if he just naturally attracted all the weird people. Either way, Joe seemed to determined to talk to him, "You were good. Really good. I'm surprised I haven't noticed you before."

"Just moved," he answered quickly. Joe nodded, "Really? Where from?"

"Aichi. Parents moved for work and I got dragged along," Taichi remarked, "Why are you asking this anyway?"

"Oh, I'm recruiting for my school's soccer team," Joe answered, "Looking to each of the middle schools and eyeing the talent."

"You don't look like the athletic type," Taichi raised a suspicious eyebrow which Joe answered with, "Oh, I'm not on the team in the usual sense. But you know, any good team needs a brain."

"Well, I don't graduate for another year so sorry," Taichi shrugged as they reached the bike racks. As he undid the lock and climbed on, Joe added, "Well why not come have a bite with me? I mean, it's never too late to start looking at high schools and a new guy like you looks like he could use a few friends."

"I am hungry after that work out," Taichi mumbled as he felt his stomach rumble, "Okay you have a deal."

He dismounted his bike and walk with the curious new stranger down the street towards the nearest noodle shop, oblivious to the red haired girl who was following them.

* * *

It would be an hour before Joe and Taichi left the restaurant, which took forever as Sora waited outside curiously awaiting whatever news Joe was going to bring. When they stepped out, Sora instinctively hid around the corner and watched them exchange good byes. Once Taichi got on his bike and pedaled away, Joe approached her hiding spot in the corner, "Subtle, Sora."

She immediately asked, "Well, what did he say?"

"His name is Taichi Yagami. He comes from Aichi, where his parents worked for Toyota. They moved down after his parents took a job offer in Tokyo and he got pulled along. His dad is thirty-three and his mother is thirty-four, both of them from Aichi too. They lived in a quiet, out of the way house where he used to pass time by kicking a ball at a wall and…yeah," Joe recited off the top of his head before pausing. Sora looked at him in disbelief, "So we don't know if he's Tamer or not?"

"I think he is," Joe nodded in agreement, "His personal history is….dubious to put it lightly. It sounded more like a biography than a personal story. Like he was reading out of a text book. When I tried to get more personal info, he just looked at me like I was crazy."

"Well, I think any one would think that's weird," Sora pointed out. Joe smiled nervously, "You're right. But I think that is Tamer and something is up. But I don't think we're going to find out what it is for a while."

* * *

Ken was certain that was how it all began. Years ago when Ken had found out the horrible truth behind the Tamer and the lengths he and WarGreymon were prepared to go to achieve it. Ken didn't like it and set out trying to forge his own destiny only to lose everything - his partner, his brother, everything he'd achieved in his mission to bring peace to the Digital World.

Although Tamer had only told him little, he wondered how much of what he'd done was exactly what Tamer intended for him to do. It also made him contemplate whether any choices he made would really matter as long as The Tamer and WarGreymon were around to keep him in line. It was all a sick joke. Right now, it seemed like the only free will decision he could make was to never go back to the Digital World ever.

The futility of it all drove him deeper into depression as he lay in his bed, unable to summon the energy to lift himself out. He didn't know how long he had been here, but he did have enough sense to hear a knock at his door and his mother's voice, "Ken, dear. It's me. There's a friend of yours here to see you."

A friend? He turned his head slightly so he could glimpse his mother coming into his room with a purple haired girl in big round glasses. He could feel his hands tighten into a ball when he saw her partner staring plainly in her hands like a doll. Just seeing them was upsetting but Ken just couldn't summon the energy to get out of bed and do anything about it. The girl smiled sheepishly, "Hey Ken. I...um...hope I'm not being rude...I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"Oh, it's alright," his mom said, "How can it be rude for one of Ken's friends to come and check on him? I think it was very sweet of you Yolei."

Yolei lowered her face but Ken could tell from her rosy cheeks that she was happy to hear that. Not that it mattered. Ken didn't want to talk to her right now though. Out of sheer spite, he sat up in his bed to acknowledge that she was there, but didn't do or say anything. Instead, he stared blankly at the wall as Yolei asked, "Are you alright, Ken?"


	21. Starting Over

Matt wandered away from the other digidestined and the clean up briefly to speak with ShogunGekomon. The large digimon was busy overseeing the repairs to the portions of the wall that were destroyed in the fire of Kimeramon's rampage. It took some prodding to pull the digimon's attention away from the repairs so that Matt could ask for advice, although he never thought he'd be asking a giant orange toad for this kind of advice, "Say, ShogunGekomon. Where do you come up with the ideas for your music?"

"Hmm? This is hardly the time to ask," ShogunGekomon grunted as he looked about the destroyed village. Matt pocketed his hands and sheepishly added, "I just…needed help with…a…something."

ShogunGekomon noted the boy's bashful response and a devilish smile appeared on his face, "Oh…do you need some help wooing some young maiden's affection?"

"You said that a little weird," Matt maintained, still barely making eye contact with the large toad. The toad laughed out loud and motioned for Matt to follow, "Come with me, digidestined! I have a lot to show you."

"Wait, what?" Matt asked, as did the other subordinates who demanded to know, "'lord! We're still working on the repairs!"

"You can manage fine without me," ShogunGekomon replied as he ushered Matt along, "So, how would you like to use my musical talents? Musical production, lyrics, perhaps tuning your vocals to the music?"

"No, that's not what it is!" Matt stammered until ShogunGekomon countered, "Don't worry, I've helped plenty compose love songs to woo the target of their affections. Why, I helped Tamer once not too long ago! Or was it centuries ago? I don't remember. But it worked!"

"What? Tamer?" Matt felt a mix of anger and curiosity at the mention of his name. ShogunGekomon laughed, "Of course! Now tell me. Why are we writing this song? Is it someone you know or is it a way for you to break the ice?"

Matt became more embarrassed as he quietly admitted, "It's…someone I know and…things were getting along. We'd hang out and do stuff together, not like dating but just as friends. And…I was hoping it'd eventually be something…like that. Then a guy she knew way back showed up and…I don't know, I feel like I'm getting pushed out of the picture."

"Say no more," ShogunGekomon grinned excitedly, "Come! Let us write a masterpiece!"

* * *

"Please, just leave me alone," Ken said as he returned to bed and closed his eyes. He waited until he heard the door closed to be sure they were gone, but he could hear them talking just outside. His mother apologized, "I'm sorry about him. He hasn't been himself since he came back. I was hoping he'd be able to talk to one of his friends, but I wasn't sure he had any since he never brings them home."

"It's alright. He...has more friends than he realizes. I...can't imagine what he's going through but I think he just needs time," he heard Yolei say. His mom asked, "Do you know what happened Yolei?"

Ken sat up in bed, scared that she might spill the beans to his mother but nothing happened to his surprise. Instead he heard Yolei reply, "I'm sorry. I don't know anything."

Ken couldn't believe that she would even come to see him after he threatened her life and left her for dead. Yet she cared, a point that utterly baffled him. He couldn't find the words to explain it and didn't care to either. As long as she went away. As long as they all went away.

He drifted in and out of sleep several times after that and was unsure how much of it was real. He dreamt of Wormmon and Ryo in better times, of the Tamer and WarGreymon reminding him that he shouldn't run from who he was meant to be, and a strange woman in a red dress and thin silver hair standing over his bed. That dream in particular stood out because of how real it felt.

She wore thick black spectacles that concealed her eyes but her gaze still chilled him to the bone, "We had such high hopes for you. You failed. I don't know why we can't just finish you though. It'd be so simple. What do we have to gain by letting you live? As far as I see, you're a loose end that needs to be taken care of. I guess it doesn't matter. Everything is still going according to plan."

The implication that he was still being used angered him. Ken reached out to grab her, only to see her vanish into thin air. Then he awoke to his dark and empty room, seeing nothing but his digivice sitting on his brother's old desk and his computer. Once again, he was all alone. He shook his head and buried it in his knees, certain that this was what he deserved for the terrible things he did to digimon.

* * *

When the digidestined met with Sora and Joe that night, they were anxious to hear what the two learned and disappointed to realize it amounted to little. The only real discovery was that his story seemed rehearsed - and they'd have to look into as much of it as they could. When Mimi suggested they just follow him home, Izzy had to explain to her that they didn't want to cause any more trouble in case the guy had nothing to do with Tamer and just happened to look like him. After all, going that far would turn it into a stalking case and the police would become involved. A point Mimi derided, pointing out the odds that they'd find someone who looks exactly like someone they know with such stupid hair.

This led to some more bickering within their group, divided on how to pursue this situation until Yolei rejoined them. When asked about her visit with Ken, she explained that it didn't go well and that he seemed to have shut down from despair. TK commented that he seemed to be handling his brother's death worse than Mimi handled her mother's, although the digidestined agreed to leave that matter alone because of the frown she shot him. For now, they decided to call it a day and go home.

Everyone went their separate ways, with Matt offering to walk Sora home for the night. This left the younger digidestined and Mimi to walk home together since they either lived in the same apartment or in the same direction. Their walk back was quiet, with Davis resting his arms behind his head while DemiVeemon poked his head out of his bag occasionally, "Can we hurry home? It stinks in here!"

"We're almost there DemiVeemon! Just hang on a little longer," Davis stated glumly to his partner. DemiVeemon gagged and complained, "Easy for you to say, you don't have to sit next to your socks."

"It just means he practices extra hard," Kari mused quietly, watching interestedly as her partner busily chased pigeons that were scavenging crumbs off the street. Poromon bounced agitatedly in Yolei's arms, made nauseous at the recollection of joining the birds in eating food last time. Patamon watched the whole affair curiously, while asking, "So what are we going to do about Ken? He may have been bad, but he's still a digidestined."

Yolei hung her head quietly, reflecting on her visit, "I don't know. He just seemed so...broken down by everything. There has to be a way to cheer him up, y'know?"

"Why not a day at the beach?" Davis suggested from the front. The stares he was met with had him sheepish until he added, "What? Summer is around the corner and it's not like we need to worry about the Digital World right now. After everything we've done, I say we deserve a small break. Who knows? Maybe a day at the beach will help him clear his head."

"Y'know, I like that idea," TK nodded in agreement to everyone else's surprise, "I doubt that being alone will do him any good the way he is now. He needs other people."

"He may have been a bad guy but even he shouldn't be alone after what he's going through," Cody reasoned quietly, "But maybe we should give him a little space for now. Why don't we ask tomorrow?"

"I like tomorrow. It means we can do other stuff now - like get food. I'm starving," Mimi groaned, before quickly adding, "But nothing your dad makes, TK. I didn't even know you could burn milk. What was he making?"

TK shrugged in bewilderment as he'd never willingly eaten anything his dad made and wondered just how much of his _home cooking_ Mimi had eaten. Whatever it was, it amused him to think that she had tried anything and only drew the line at burned milk. Perhaps she'd tried the home made macaroni and cheese or even his ill fated attempt at tempura. Then he shuddered as he recalled the fish casserole.

They hurried back so that Mimi could have something to eat, eventually parting ways with Davis and Kari who lived in another building. Then they left Cody and Yolei who lived on another floor. Anticipation grew as Mimi hurried to help herself to some food. Unfortunately, Mimi's hope for some good food fell apart as soon as she and TK got to the front door of his dad's apartment. His dad waited for them at a dining table with a cup of tea in his hands. Opposite him was another man, a disgruntled and sleepy looking fellow who glanced over once they'd entered the room. Slowly, his gaze moved from TK to Mimi and his face lit up in a smile. He hurried to her with open arms, "Mimi! Thank goodness!"

"Dad?" she managed to gasp out just in time for him to close his arms around her in a loving embrace. Mimi took one glance at TK, pleading for help with her eyes but TK could only step away nervously - unsure of if he should do anything as her father was clearly relieved to see his daughter alive and well.

His dad caught his attention and nodded to the door, hinting that he should leave and TK took the hint. He inched away despite Mimi's obvious pleas for help and mouthed an apology before closing the apartment door behind him. At the same moment, he noticed Matt just now coming home and he smiled, "Hey little bro. What's up? Mom out again?"

"No. Mimi's dad just showed up," TK mumbled. Matt hissed and ran a hand through his hair, "Well, that's not fun. What's going on?"

"No idea. Dad kicked me out," TK thumbed back through the door, then glancing over at the door to his apartment, "Mom's not home though. Nothing stopping us from eavesdropping."

Matt sighed and walked past the boy towards the door into the apartment, "Do whatever you want, just leave me out of it. I don't want mom yelling at me too."

"Don't make me out as the bad guy here, Matt," TK grumbled as he followed Matt, "How was Sora?"

"I walked her home. That's all that happened," Matt replied defensively, throwing himself onto the couch and turning on the TV without ever once looking at his little brother. TK picked up an empty glass and pressed it against the wall but couldn't make out anything on the other side beyond muffled talking. He sighed, "I guess it doesn't work in real life, huh?"

"Anywhere you gonna be, that's where I wanna be. Right now. Did I say that out loud?" Matt replied before he started humming to himself quietly. TK raised an eyebrow, familiar with how his brother came up with songs and asked, "What's that?"

"Oh...just something I've been working on," Matt replied quietly, "It's not finished yet. That's the only part I have."

"Well, I'd like to hear what you have," TK replied as Matt folded his arms behind his head, "Not tonight, little brother."

* * *

Ken wasn't sure what the time was when he finally awoke from his slumber. What he did know was that it was still dark. The only light in the room came from his digivice resting quietly on his desk. He tried to turn over in his bed away from the annoyance but the light grew brighter in protest. He understood what it meant. But he wanted nothing more to do with it. That was his choice - he wanted to be left alone. However, it seemed others had their own ideas about what he should do. The annoying voice of Agumon came from the darkness behind him, "Wake up Wotkin. You've done nothing but sleep for the last few days. I think it's time you got up and smelled the bacon!"

Ken turned in his bed to face the intruder, angered but barely able to summon the energy to convey his anger, "Leave me alone. Don't you have anything better to do?"

"Not really. I'm still on the run," Agumon sighed quietly, "Just came here to check on you. Haven't heard from you in a days and I was worried."

"Why are you here like that? Shouldn't you be WarGreymon?" Ken asked quietly, realizing Agumon wasn't flying around in his mega form. Agumon hopped back onto the bed with a laugh, "It'd be kinda hard to fit in your room if I were that tall. So, when are you going back to the Digital World?"

"I'm not going back to the Digital World," Ken grumbled, turning back on his bed to face away from Agumon, "I never want to go back."

"You have to."

"No I don't."

"Yes you do."

"Make me!"

"Okay, would you do it for Wormmon?"

Ken paused at the sound of his partner's name and looked back at Agumon sitting on the foot of his bed. The little orange dinosaur's small legs hung off the edge and swung playfully as he added, "He's probably reformatted by now and is worried sick about you."

"I don't deserve to see him again. Not after what I di-"

Before Ken could finish his sentence, Agumon slapped his leg and grumbled, "Knock it off with that depressed stuff. It really doesn't work for you. I mean, I liked you better when you weren't manically depressed. Or maybe you always were and I just never noticed. Either way, it's time to knock it off."

Ken finally sat up in bed to glare at the dinosaur, "Wormmon died because of a monster I made, trying to get back a brother who just died again anyway. Don't tell me how to act right now."

Agumon nodded with a grim frown on his face, "Right, I see. Have it your way. I'm sure Wormmon will be just fine."

"He'll be better off," Ken spat out angrily, turning over in his covers. Agumon adjusted himself so that he could face Ken better and added, "That's not true and you know it. You guys are partners. More than that, he's your best friend. You can't just leave him. He needs you just like you need him. Now especially more than ever."

"I don't deserve his friendship," Ken answered only to be met with another hard slap on the leg by Agumon, "Then earn it. Quit moping, get up and start making up for some of the terrible stuff you did. Because there is a lot of it that you need to make up for."

"Guilt tripping me won't work!" Ken spat at the little orange lizard, who rolled his eyes in exasperation, "Yeah, no duh. Otherwise, you'd have already gotten up. So I have two conclusions: either you're still running from your destiny, or you're lazy. I really hope it's the first because I can't do anything about the second."

Ken and the little orange dinosaur stared at each other for the longest time before the boy finally broke his gaze away. He grumbled under his breath about how he seemed to fated to have to deal with this annoyance forever before asking, "So is this supposed to be my destiny?"

"It's your destiny to be a digidestined," Agumon leapt off the bed and approached the computer screen, "Do as you like. It's not my call. It's not like Tamer is around right now to stop you."

"Tamer? What about Tamer? Why isn't he around right now?" Ken asked, his curiosity peaked as Agumon approached the computer screen before him. Agumon pressed a finger to his lips and winked, "Sorry. That's a secret. Let's see...if I remember, Tamer pressed this and shouted, 'Digiport Open'!"

The screen of the computer flashed a bright light, leaving Ken alone again in his room. He glanced back at the light coming from his digivice - at a crossroads on if he should even follow the path that seemed to be laid out before him or if it would be better to stay here and lie in this bed, frozen into inaction by despair until the day he died. An eternity passed in silent contemplation until Ken finally rose off his bed and snatched the digivice off his desk. He pointed it at his screen as he had hundreds of times before and declared, "Digiport Open!"

* * *

Matt ended up spending the night with his mom and brother, giving Mimi and her dad time to hash things out at the Ishida residence. They only saw her again the next morning, on their way to school with Matt - where they found Mimi and her dad loading their things onto a taxi. By chance, Yolei and Cody came down at the exact same time to see her sudden departure. TK caught her attention by loudly asking, "Leaving already?"

She looked up quietly, forcing a half smile and trying to sound cheery, "Dad's taking me back to America."

Her tone betrayed her true feelings - she didn't want to go back. She hadn't even thought to call it home, instead calling it just America. The longing desire to stay burned in her eyes but it was obvious that she wasn't going to defy her father to his face. Her father patted her head to get her attention and motioned to the car, "Say goodbye to your friends Mimi. We'll have to get going if we're going to catch our plane."

She didn't even look at her dad but did nod, "It was good seeing you two again. And it was nice to meet you guys."

Yolei and Cody swapped nervous glances, aware that her goodbye was half-hearted. She didn't want to go and no one could blame her. Yolei said, "You don't sound like you want to go."

Mimi was surprised by the answer and her dad looked up impatiently as Yolei went on, "I mean…the whole time you've been here, you sounded happy. Cheerful. I mean, yeah, you got mad when Tamer's name came up. But that goodbye sounded like the most dishonest thing you've said. Well, aside from sneaking on a plane to get here. What I'm trying to say is you've never sounded so...fake before. So what gives? Why not just say that you don't want to go back to America?"

"It's not her decision to make," her dad said, finally joining the conversation and making it clear that Yolei shouldn't talk anymore, "It's mine. She's a kid. She's my daughter and I want nothing more than to protect her. I explained that to her and she understood. Maybe it's time you kids did the same...before you get yourselves killed. If your parents told you to not get involved, then don't! Get in the taxi, Mimi."

Mimi nodded sheepishly, obediently climbing inside with her back to them. For a brief moment, she flashed her D-Terminal to them and flipped it open. As soon as she was inside, she started typing while her dad came to talk to them. He brushed a hand through his hair and spoke to them plainly, "Listen. If you kids want to keep going off to this other world to get yourselves killed, then do it. But don't bring my daughter into it. We already...lost her mother. I am not going to lose her because of the stupid thing you kids are involved in. This doesn't concern us, and it shouldn't concern you!"

"Yessir," Cody said quietly as the others all nodded in agreement. His dad nodded approvingly and returned to the car to sit beside his daughter in the backseat. Just before he got in, they heard their D-Terminals beep. It was apparent that Mimi's dad didn't want her to try and sneak off again as he made sure her door was locked before gesturing to the driver to take off. As soon as he was gone, they all checked their D-Terminals to see Mimi's message.

_Sorry guys._

_You're right, Yolei. To be honest, I don't want to go. But going along with what dad wants is for the best right now. Because as much as I want to stay and help against Myotismon, I also want my dad to support me and cheer me on. And I can't do that if he's opposed to it. It'll take some time, but I think I'll get him to come around. Just make sure you leave some for me when that time comes._

_:-)_

_Oh, and don't tell Izzy. The last thing I want is him trying to be the dashing hero. He's cute enough just being himself._

_;-P_

_Love, Mimi_

As the digidestined finished reading, Matt sighed, "Huh, never thought I'd see the day Mimi would be underhanded."

"Yeah, well, that's debatable," Yolei mumbled to herself quietly while she put the D-Terminal away. Cody grimaced, "I can't imagine anyone going against their parents like that and getting away with it."

TK looked at the others in surprise, especially Matt and pointed out, "Are we really not going to talk about how she just called Izzy cute?"

"What's there to talk about?" Cody asked, "Davis already said it's obvious Izzy likes her. It'd be weird if she didn't at least like him back."

"I guess I just thought this would have more fan fare," TK sighed, "Still, I guess if anyone can bring her dad around, it'll be her."

Cody remained uncertain of that explanation, still thinking on TK's personal history as a delinquent. Although he'd established that he was a good person at heart, Cody still had a hard time getting past the number of times he'd snuck out of class - even if it was for a good reason. As he started walking again, TK opened up his D-Terminal and started typing a message. Yolei peered over his shoulder as he walked, "What are you saying to her?"

"Oh...seeing when her school year ends and how big her apartment is," TK thought aloud, "Her summer break has to be coming up soon and I doubt she'll want to be alone for it."

* * *

Ken had no idea how long he'd wandered the lengths of the Digital World - across open plain, dense forests, arid desert, and misty shores. The amount of time he spent wandering felt like an eternity. Although he'd been here so many times before, he'd never felt so lost or uncertain of where he was. He even didn't know if he was going in the right direction, moving instead on a purely instinctual level towards his friend. With each step he took, he felt himself get closer to his partner. Wormmon was just ahead of him - in the resting ground of all newborn digimon in the Digital World. But questions remained to trouble him - would his partner remember him? Would his partner want to go back to him? Was there any point in any of this?

That question ran along his head head - if he remembered, would he want to come back to him? If he didn't, would he want to go with a total stranger? Or would he recognize him from the stories of the Digimon Emperor and the terrible things he'd carried out. It terrified him to think that his partner would look at him with disgust, and it was impossible to reconcile with the idea that he'd deserve it if that's how his partner reacted. He swallowed a growing lump in his throat and carried on into the familiar realm of cushioned ground, large toy blocks, and cribs that protected digieggs.

Unfortunately for him, some of those eggs had already hatched and were home to plenty of newborn digimon who became fretful upon seeing him. And their cries attracted the attention of their care taker: Elecmon. Their guardian came running, with electricity sparking from his tail - charging straight for Ken and giving him no time to react. Ken could've flipped Elecmon over his head, using his own skill to turn the tables and hold him down. But in his current state, all Ken could do was gasp when Elecmon tackled him to the ground. Elecmon bore his teeth and hissed, "You have a lot of nerve to come here Emperor. You're not welcome in Primary Village, now or ever. Leave or I'll destroy you."

Ken mumbled weakly, "I can't, not until I find my partner."

Elecmon hissed, "There's nobody here for you Emperor! Leave now! I won't warn you again!"

Ken felt his lower lip tremble but asked anyway, "Please. Have you seen Wormmon?"

Elecmon raised his claws and slashed at him again; Ken instinctively raised his arms up to protect himself. The claws tore into his clothes and cut into the surface of his skin. Ken kept his arms raised but made no other resistance, content to lie here as Elecmon mauled him with his claws. This was his destiny, wasn't it? To meet his fate at the hands of the ones he wronged. It didn't matter that he had good intentions, it was still wrong. He didn't even scream despite the terrible pain he was in. At this point, he welcomed his own death. Or so he thought until he heard a childish voice cry out, "Leave...alone."

Elecmon let up his attack briefly to see a small blob of a digimon by his side. It had a pink button nose and a large leaf resting upon its head - Leafmon. Wormmon's newborn form timidly tried to stop Elecmon, "Leave...Ken...alone..."

Ken felt his own heart skip a beat upon seeing his partner. Leafmon recognized him which meant he retained his memories. This would've included everything he'd done as the Digimon Emperor, but his partner still chose to protect him. He considered Ken his friend. And that meant more to Ken than he could express into words. He tried reaching for his partner, but Elecmon slapped his hand away. His eyes narrowed at Ken but he softly said to Leafmon, "Look away little one. This doesn't concern you."

"Ken...friend," Leafmon struggled to say, "Ken...good..."

Elecmon grumbled in disbelief and motioned to Leafmon to leave again, "No, he's the Emperor. There is nothing good about him. And as your guardian, I will protect you!"

"Leave...Alone!" Leafmon grunted, leaping from his spot on the ground to tackle Elecmon. Elecmon was much bigger and stronger than the little newborn digimon, so all Leafmon managed to do was bounce off Elecmon ineffectually. Elecmon raised an eyebrow and climbed off Ken to pick up the newborn digimon, "What are you doing little one? I'm trying to protect you."

"Ken...Friend...Ken...good," Leafmon whimpered weakly. With Elecmon distracted, he didn't notice Ken crawling towards the little digimon with his arms outstretched to hold Leafmon. By the time Elecmon realized it, Ken had already wrapped his arms around Leafmon and whimpered, "I'm sorry, Leafmon. I'm so sorry. I was wrong about everything. I was so wrong. I don't deserve you as a friend. Could you ever forgive me for everything I did."

Leafmon nuzzled into his chest from within his arms and answered with all the sincerity that could be expected of it, "Ken...good...want...best...to...help. You...nice. Don't...be...sorry...Ken. You...good...you...tried...best."

"I'm sorry," Ken said again, "I'm so sorry."

Elecmon grumbled angrily, "I don't believe this. Let the newborn digimon go and leave!"

"No!" Leafmon said defiantly, "I...stay...with...Ken! Ken...friend!"

Ken hugged Leafmon closer, refusing to let the digimon go to Elecmon and worried Elecmon may try to take him by force. Elecmon clicked his tongue distatefully, annoyed that his charge had openly defied him in front of the others. The newborn digimon of Primary Village were under his carge and he had to protect them. How he could protect them when one was so willing to go with Ken. Yet the digimon seemed content and apparently retained his memories. And the Emperor claimed he was his partner. So perhaps this digimon knew the Emperor better than he ever could.

He had to care for the little digimon, both their physical safety and emotional well being! But if he harmed the Emperor and made the newborn unhappy, he risked his role as the caretaker of the village. And part of that role was knowing when it was time for the digimon to leave. He sighed and stepped back, "If you wish to go with him, you can. But know this means you can never return. He is not welcome here."

Leafmon nodded in understanding and Elecmon sighed. He gestured for them to leave and Ken departed with his partner in his arms. He hadn't gone far before he collapsed, whimpering with his partner in his hands - just glad to have him back and looking into his beady little eyes with relief. Perhaps this was his role as a digidestined. He would have to raise and take care of Leafmon - he would have to do better.

* * *

Another day came and went uneventfully. The digidestined would go to the Digital World after school to help clean up and restore what they could, while some would stay to keep an eye on Taichi as he went about his life. It seemed he'd been gaining some popularity with the girls because of his soccer skills, although most thought he'd have to change his hair first. It wasn't until the end of the week when they met up again after school that TK brought up an idea he had, "I know we were planning a beach trip, but I was thinking we could also visit Mimi in America this summer."

"What, like right away?" Matt asked, "Because that's going to be expensive this late."

"Well, not right away and not all of us. But we should go see her to see how she's doing over there," TK explained, "Apparently they get three month breaks during the summer!"

"I'm all for going. It'd be nice to see another country," Izzy said excitedly, trying to ignore the looks he was getting from the other digidestined. It went without saying that he obviously wanted to see Mimi in person again after her abrupt departure.

"Me too. It'd be nice to not be here for a while," Kari said quietly, looking to the soccer field where the middle school boy's soccer team was busy at practice. Davis frowned at the sudden announcement, "But I thought we were going to have a beach day."

"We have all summer to go to the beach. Like we have all summer to go to America," TK explained, "There's no rush."

Patamon looked excited at the prospect of travel and asked, "Can we come too?"

"If you pretend to be dolls," TK answered, "For several hours. On a plane full of people."

"I think something like that needs a little more planning," Joe stated, "And I won't have time since I have to study for college entrance exams."

"My mom was already against me going to the Digital World," Cody nodded quietly, "I don't think she'd like me trying to go to America."

"We don't have to commit to anything now," TK reasoned, "We have all summer to plan it out and it's not like we can't talk to her with the D-Terminal."

"Besides, Izzy's been talking to her on his laptop for a while," Matt teased, slapping the boy's shoulder playfully. Izzy's face went bright red and he countered, "I was just trying to keep in touch with her after she moved so she would have an easier time adjusting. That's all!"

"Uh huh. Sure," Sora nodded playfully, further embarrassing the boy. The brief joviality ended just as they heard the coach's whistle signalling the end of the boys' practice. The team started to clean up, wiping off the sweat of a hard day's practice and getting water to rehydrate. In the midst of it, Sora noticed Taichi and Jun making their way off the field together - talking animatedly and both smiling playfully. Sora did a double take at the sight of it, as did the other digidestined. The tail end of their conversation seemed to give away what they were talking about, "So, I was thinking we could go do something this Sunday after the game - grab a bite to eat, see a movie, and just hang out."

Jun giggled like a little girl, "I'd like that yeah. There's a movie I've been wanting to see for a while but-"

"Jun. what are you two doing?" Davis interrupted them loudly, spoiling Jun's good mood while Taichi smiled stupidly at him. The other digidestined simply sighed at Davis's outburst, embarrassed for everyone was about to be involved in what was said. Jun tried to straighten a smile on her face and explained, "Oh we're just making plans for what we'll do Sunday. What are you doing?"

"Wondering what my sister is doing talking to one of the coolest soccer players on the middle school team," Davis answered stupidly. Taichi shrugged in his usual way, smiling as he said, "She was cute and I thought I should say hi. So I caught her at lunch and we just started talking."

Jun's cheeks became rosy at the compliment, and she looked away from Taichi although that didn't deter the smile on he face, "It's a good thing too. I forgot to bring lunch and he actually offered to get me something from the cafeteria."

Sora and Matt swapped looks, before Sora added, "Yeah...he does that."

"Wait, did he just ask you on a date?" Kari asked with an open jaw, looking at Taichi in disbelief.

Jun paused, her cheeks turning a deep red as she answered, "Well, yeah. I guess you could call it something like that."

Her cheeks became so red that she had to hide her face. The digidestined were still at a loss for words, trying to process what they'd just heard. The Digimon Tamer had been in the Real World for a a few days, and had already asked out Davis's sister on a date. Sora especially was more bothered by the news than she probably should've been.

She couldn't lie to herself and had always wondered what life would've been like if Tai had never disappeared - would his family have ever split up the way they did? Would the two of them still be good friends? Could any of their adventures in the Digital World have happened without him getting pulled there? Would it have been exactly the same with all his talk about destiny, or would it have been different? Would she have been the one he asked out to do something outside school? That question made her more flustered than it should have and she shook her head, "So you're just hanging out?"

Sora felt a weight in her heart when she asked and it hit her hard as Jun answered, "I guess if you want to look at it like that. Just a guy…and a girl…doing something by themselves…"

Jun became more even more red and had to turn her face once again to hide it. Taichi grunted disbelievingly, "You guys are getting really bad at butting into other people's business and being nosy. It's kinda rude, y'know?"

"Sorry," Izzy offered a half hearted apology. Davis stared at his sister in a stunned stupor, then at Taichi in near disbelief. The older digidestined could only shake their heads woefully as Davis stammered, "You...asked my sister...during lunch."

"Yep," Taichi nodded, watching as Davis scratched his head and tried to process this. He asked more slowly, "You want to spend time with her?"

"We were making plans for Sunday," Taichi added with a confident smile, to Davis's annoyance. Davis sighed, "I still don't...understand."

"Davis, we're going on a date," Taichi stated flatly to a confused Davis. The older digidestined exchanged surprised looks at the blatant response. Now it was confirmed in Davis' mind that Taichi had actually asked Jun Motomiya on a date. Sora didn't say anything but some part of her felt hurt by that - as if everything that'd happened to their group meant nothing as Tamer continued to live this normal life as if nothing was wrong. Davis gasped, "Who would date my sister?"

He was slapped across the back of the head by Jun and by Taichi at the same time, "Ow! It was a serious question!"

He was slapped again with more enthusiasm by both Jun and Taichi.

 


	22. A Day Off

Kari found herself perplexed that her brother's look alike was so attached to Davis's older sister, and often found herself wondering just how much of an indicator this was to Davis. She was well aware of the fact that Davis liked her, but it wasn't a feeling she reciprocated. She didn't like him the way he liked her, and there didn't seem to be a good way to explain that to him that wouldn't also lead to hurting him. Gatomon reasoned that his ego wouldn't be so easily bruised but Kari wasn't as sure as her partner.

In fact, her concerns worsened after gym class that day. The boys of her class were divided into two teams that played basketball against each other while the girls were put into teams to play volleyball. At some point during the game, Kari heard Davis shout, "Hey Kari! Check this out!"

When she glanced over, it was to see Davis trying to score from the three point line, only to miss by a wide margin as the ball flew over the board and bounced off the back wall. Then it slammed into his face so hard that he fell flat on his back onto the girls' side of the gym. Most of their classmates were either laughing or face palming, but Davis managed to force out a dumb little goofy smile for her. She returned the smile awkwardly, embarrassed that he'd loudly called out her name and tried to show off for her sake. The way his face lit up when she offered him a hand up also didn't go unnoticed. She tried to play it off as nothing, but it was hard to miss the blush on his face.

TK chastised him the moment he was back in the game for losing focus, which Davis wasn't too happy about. Tensions seemed to be running high between the boys although it was mostly from Davis as he seemed to view TK as a competitor for her affection. Kari was unsure of how TK saw her and hoped their feelings were mutual. She saw him only as a good friend she'd known since their adventure in the Digital World years ago. And nothing more.

After school, the digidestined went to help clean up more in ShogunGekomon's Village but the scene there was always depressing - they'd found as many survivors as they could and reunited as many friends as possible. However, many of them were displaced as their homes and everything they owned was destroyed. This was made all the worse by the fact that the refugees and the local digimon were now fighting for what few resources remained instead of sharing. The few guards made of Agumon, Otamamon, and Gekomon constantly had to break up fights to keep some semblance of order but they were hungry too. It was often that some amount of food vanished during the quieter moments of guard duty with no explanation to what was happening. The digidestined could never stay any longer to investigate as they still had to return home and finish homework, which meant the brief respite they all received was at the end of the day when they were all about to sleep.

The work left them tired across the week, so they decided to spend Saturday relaxing. They made plans to do something together on the walk back to the gate, excitedly talking amongst themselves. It was about time as well as none of them had spent much time together outside the Digital World since they first became digidestined. They each had their own ideas about what to do - Yolei wanted to go into town to check out new electronics, whereas Davis still pitched his beach idea only to be met with a lack luster response. Cody thought it would be best to have a study session to get ahead of their homework but everyone shot it down immediately. No one wanted to spend their only free day studying. TK suggested they do something their digimon could join in on but Kari's suggestion was the one that confused them, "I'd like to go to Tai's game."

"Seriously? Why?" Yolei asked, uninterest in either sports or anything involving Tamer. TK guessed, "You still think he might be Tamer?"

Kari shook her head, "No. I mean if it is, then he won't say so until he wants to. But...I've always wondered what it would've been like if Tai never went to the Digital World before us. Even if he doesn't want to talk to us, it's nice to see him happy."

"Yeah, but could he be happy without my sister.? I still can't get over the fact that he's into her," Davis groaned, running his hand down his face. Yolei smiled devilishly while she joked, "I think you should be more worried. I mean, he's basically just an older you so what's that say about her?"

Davis frowned and shivered as the gears inside his head turned, processing what he'd just heard, "Yolei! Never put those ideas in my head!"

"Just consider it pay back," Yolei teased with a wink. Her partner was a few feet behind her and sighed, "While I appreciate your wish to get back at Davis for all the times he's talked negatively about you, could you do so without implying inter-familial relations?"

"Internal family whatsh-itsh?" Veemon repeated, unsure of what Hawkmon had just said. Armadillomon whispered the explanation for Veemon and the blue digimon jumped up in disgust, "Humansh do that!? WHY!?"

"Wait, what did you say we do?" Davis asked incredulously, looking at Hawkmon suspiciously. The hawk answered sheepishly, "I only know about it from those shows that Yolei is always watching at home. Apparently it's quite acceptable in your world."

"WHAT SHOWS ARE YOU WATCHING?" Davis shouted loudly until Yolei grinned, mumbling the name of some show only Kari could recognize. And even she had to raise an eyebrow to Yolei's taste, "The one where the siblings date?"

"It's okay! They're not even really related! Their parents just swapped partners making them unofficial step siblings," Yolei reasoned, although this didn't make it any better to Kari, "It's still weird."

"Please say that's not what this whole thing with Tamer is about," TK sighed, making her suddenly feel defensive, "Ew! NO! Of course that's not what it's about! He's my brother and I miss him! Don't make it weird."

"We went way past weird a while ago," she heard TK mumble quietly, and she shot him a dirty look in response. Cody tried explaining to the digimon that what Hawkmon was talking about was considered taboo to humans, with only a handful of situations where it would come close to okay and even those had strings attached to them. Davis emphasized this by explaining that he did not, could not, and would never see his sister in that light. Hawkmon remained unconvinced, citing Yolei's show as a source until Cody reasoned that most shows fake it for story telling drama.

Hawkmon was disappointed but thankfully the conversation ended there and they went back to talking about what they'd do when summer vacation rolled around. Then TK suggested something, "My brother has another gig coming up this Saturday, maybe we can all go do that?"

"Oh yeah, I remember he said something about that," Yolei nodded, "I wanted to go but we had to all talk to our parents after that thing with Wizardmon."

"What's a gig?" Armadillomon cocked his head to the side curiously as the other digimon circled TK. The boy explained, "Oh, Matt's in a band with a bunch of his classmates. He does vocals, guitar, and harmonica, depending on the song. They call themselves 'The Teenage Wolves' which I think was supposed to be a nod to Gabumon."

"Oh, so that's where he got the name from," Yolei nodded in realization, "Now it makes sense."

"Is his music more akin to a waltz or a ballad?" Hawkmon asked, oblivious to the looks he was receiving from the other digidestined. Armadillomon added, "If'n he's playin' the guitar I think it'll be a lil' more rock'n'roll."

"It's more like he plays his own style," TK thought aloud, thinking back on the songs he knew the band would play, "Most of it are just covers of songs other bands played - they've done jazz, blues, rock, eletronica. But the music he's written is...well, it's hard to describe. It's different but it's good. It's just very hard to describe, y'know. Their most popular one is 'Butterfly' but I always liked 'Tomorrow Comes Today'."

"I wouldn't mind listening to some of his music," Cody smiled quietly, "It'd be a nice way to start the summer."

Davis's shoulders slumped, obviously disappointed that they weren't going to do his beach idea right away. Even still he managed a smile, "Okay, let's listen to some tunes."

* * *

When TK got home that night, it was to find his mother talking on the phone with someone from work. Although he only caught part of the conversation, he did catch her say the word America and that had his attention. As soon as the conversation ended, she slammed the phone on the receiver and growled. TK was almost too worried to ask but did so anyway, "What's wrong mom?"

"Work. Our international correspondent was working a story, it was supposed to be a big scoop. Something to do with disappearances that no one was talking about. Then they just stopped covering the story. And, since I'm the only one who speaks English, they want me go to New York City in America to finish it," she grumbled, "It's late notice but I guess someone decided to promote me to the international correspondent without asking me. I swear, if you don't stress me into an early grave, they will."

Upon hearing that his mother may be traveling to New York, TK's face lit up, "You're going to America! When!?"

His mom's expression soured further and she massaged her temple, "Whatever you're thinking, no. You'll be with your dad while I'm on this assignment and you won't be getting into any more trouble."

"My idea was that you'd be able to keep a better eye on me if you brought me with you," TK said to his mom with a big smile. If she could be any angrier, TK couldn't imagine it when he saw the face she made, "And I already said no. You're staying."

"Are you sure you don't-"

"Look, it's annoying enough when you pull these kinda stunts on others. Don't you dare pull it on your own mother! You're staying," she said adamantly, motioning at him to have a seat at the dinner table. He nodded and sat there to avoid earning her ire, staring silently as she grumbled about work under her breath. After a moment, she looked up at him, "Why do you even want to go anyway?"

TK didn't even attempt to hide his reason, "Mimi. She seemed bummed out about going back to America. I thought she might like having some old friends visit."

"TK, her dad had to fly across the ocean just to get his daughter. I doubt that he's going to want to see any of you guys right now," she frowned, before looking at Patamon sitting atop his head, "And I really doubt he wants to see you."

"What's wrong with me?" Patamon asked innocently, hopping onto the table and standing on his hind legs, "I haven't done anything."

"I don't think her dad likes digimon, period," TK said to his partner, "You have a point, mom. But I'm not going to see her dad. I want to go to see Mimi, let her know that we haven't forgotten about her."

His mom sighed, "And again, no. You're not coming with me to America."

As she went to start dinner, TK slouched in his chair and patted his partner's head. Patamon looked at him sheepishly and he smiled, "We'll convince her. There's time."

"No you won't!" she said from the kitchen. A long silence followed after that, with TK thinking about what he could say to convince his mother. The one thing he didn't expect was for her to come out of her own volition, "You know what? Screw it! If they're going to treat me like this then they can pay for it with the expense account!"

"Huh?" TK blinked in surprise as his mom walked over to slam her fist on the table, "You want to come? You can! Any of your friends want to come to? Let's buy a whole bunch of round trips!"

TK suddenly felt cowed by his own mother, shrinking away fearfully as she took on a nasty look on her face that proved she could look more angry. Patamon turned his head to the side and commented, "I always thought you acted that way because of Tamer. I never thought you would've got it from your mom."

"I'm scared Patamon," TK shook, holding on to his partner, "Mom's scary and I don't know when this happened."

* * *

Davis awoke Saturday morning to a message he never thought he'd see on his D-Terminal. A single message from Kari asking him to meet her outside her apartment building at nine in the morning. When he saw he only had an hour to meet her, Davis hopped out of bed with so much speed that DemiVeemon found himself bouncing off the bed, "AH! EARTHQUAKE! WHAT'S HAPPENING!"

"Kari wants to meet up with me! On Saturday! Before we meet up with the others!" Davis said excitedly, going through his hamper for clothes he could wear for the day. He stopped sifting through clothes as the thought occurred to him, "Wait, did she ask me out through an email?"

"I don't think that's what she was doing," DemiVeemon sighed, dragging Davis's D-Terminal along the bed. Davis examined the device and reread the message carefully.

_Davis_

_Would you please meet me and Gatomon outside my apartment at 9. Bring DemiVeemon with you. See you soon!_

_Kari_

He needed a moment to cool his head and get over the fact that Kari had asked him to meet her, before he could even begin to consider that maybe this wasn't her asking him on a date. When that fact finally sank in, he sighed and placed his D-Terminal aside. It may not be a date but he was still determined to at least look nice before he went out with his partner - in the end, he settled on a blue vest, a dark blue t-shirt with a single white stripe, and olive shorts. While he dressed, he couldn't help but contemplate why Kari wanted to see him so early. It didn't make sense to him until he saw his older sister heading outside with her sports jacket on. She said good bye to her parents and rushed outside with an excited look on her face.

Kari wanted to see her brother's game, which was the thing she wanted to do yesterday. He was hoping Kari would just want to spend time with him, instead of chasing the guy who may or may not be her brother. He said bye to his parents before running out the door towards Kari's home. He felt a small tinge of hope when he found Kari and Gatomon waiting for them outside her apartment. He immediately noted the way Kari dressed - a yellow neckerchief, pink tanktop, and lavendar shorts that showed off as much of her legs as her normal yellow shorts. She smiled on seeing them, "Hey Davis. DemiVeemon."

"It's about time," Gatomon whispered quietly, feigning a stretch, "Any longer and we would've just left without you."

"So what did you guys want us for so early in the morning?" DemiVeemon asked excitedly, riding in Davis' arms and poking his head out. Davis scratched the back of his head, never recalling seeing Kari dressed in such cute clothes and trying his hardest to not stare. Kari stated quietly, "I just thought you'd like to watch the soccer game since Gatomon and I are going."

"Yeah, sure," Davis managed a smile, despite feeling upset that this wasn't what he hoped it would be. He may have misread the situation but at least he'd get to watch a good soccer game. He recalled Kari mentioning her brother enjoyed soccer before he vanished, and what he'd seen at soccer practice basically confirmed it. Tamer or Tai could very well go toe to toe with Ken Ichijouji if they ever played together.

They walked together to the field in silence, neither saying a word to the other as they walked. However, this didn't stop DemiVeemon from running his mouth with Gatomon frequently reminding him to be quiet.

They arrived just as the game started, and took their seats in the back on Gatomon's insistence so that they wouldn't be spotted by Taichi as the game played out.

The game had already started by then, so they witnessed first hand how good he actually was. On his own, her brother's look alike managed to become a one man army that single handedly pushed his team to the lead from the start. Players from the other team tried to block him but he always dribbled past them with leg work so fast it was hard to tell where the ball was going. Kari was excited to see her brother doing so well but became worried as he started to slow down. However, Davis had a better eye for soccer plays and could tell that he wasn't actually tired. Rather, he was handicapping himself and passing the ball to let the rest of his team have a chance to shine. In addition, he was allowing the players on the other team a chance so that they didn't get too discouraged from playing.

As positive as this was, Davis was left with a single burning question in his mind - Taichi was being deceptively weak to throw others off. As much as he insisted that he was someone else, Davis had to wonder how much more of his behavior was meant to be deceptive. At the halfway point, the players returned to the benches to catch a breather while their teams' respective coaches went over what plays they would use in the future. During that brief time, all four noticed that Davis's sister had gone over to talk to Taichi. The two spoke naturally to each other and smiled the whole time, instilling a jealousy in Davis that his sister got with someone before he did.

"I never would've guessed Tamer was into girls," Gatomon mused as she watched the two talk, "Or that he could be normal."

Kari smiled happily at the sight, "I'm just happy to see him normal. But if he doesn't stop, he'll pass out from exhaustion."

"He's a lot better than he seems," Davis pointed out, "I don't know anyone who could control a game as well as he does. I don't think even Ken Ichijouji could be so good."

"Yeah, he's faking it," Gatomon nodded quietly, "Tamer always played stupid."

"I don't get it," DemiVeemon turned his head to the side, "We already know he's tired. Nobody can do their best when he's tired."

"Nah, see look at the next play," Davis said as the teams returned to the field. DemiVeemon peered closely, as did Kari and Gatomon while Davis provided commentary, "Taichi has a clear shot at the goal even with two people trying to block him. He's gotten around blockers before so this should be nothing. Instead he passes the ball like...now. That way, someone else on his team has a chance to score a goal. Which they just did."

"I still don't get it," DemiVeemon sighed. Kari turned to face him with wide eyed awe, "Oh wow. That was good Davis."

"It's just luck," Gatomon shrugged disbelievingly until Davis pointed out, "Oh yeah? Well, how about this. Next play, he's going to let the other team score."

As Davis predicted, the next play started with Taichi passing the ball to one of his teammates, who managed the fumble the ball into the other team. From there, Taichi struggled to catch up to the other player as he scored a point. Gatomon nodded quietly as it played out as Davis predicted but commented, "Luck."

"Oh, come on. Really?"

"Think about it. Your partner is Veemon. They're known for strength and bringing good luck to those around them," Gatomon pointed out, "It would also explain why winning comes so easily to you."

"I'm a good luck charm!" DemiVeemon said excitedly, so loudly that the people in front of them looked back at him. Davis covered his partner's mouth and did his best to impersonate his voice, "What can I say? I'm so awesome."

They winced angrily at the annoying voice, a few shushing him, and they went back to watching the game. DemiVeemon pried himself free of Davis' hand and whispered, "I don't sound like that do I?"

"We have to keep it down," Davis whispered to his partner, "The last thing you want is to be seen."

"We've already made a scene," Gatomon mumbled disbelievingly, stretching on all fours before suggesting, "Let's just get out of here."

"I wanted to see the end of the game," Kari's cheery disposition sank away to disappointment that Gatomon tried to mitigate, "Davis may be the lucky one, but Tamer's the annoyed one. Or Taichi. Whatever, the name game is so frustrating. Anyway, he may not be happy to see us after he's been called Tai for so long. I mean, Matt pinning him to a wall was bad enough but Joe questioning him the way he did may have put him on his guard. He probably doesn't want to see us. Let's get out of here while we can."

"O…okay," Kari frowned, rising from her seat to follow her partner away from the game. Davis looked back at the game one more time, witnessing his sister cheering from the bench as Taichi managed to score one more point. He didn't want to linger and followed after Kari, struggling to hold his partner who was still trying to watch the game. They'd walked a block from the field back towards her apartment before anyone said anything and it was DemiVeemon who spoke, "We're not going home already, are we? What was the point of going outside if we weren't going to do anything else?"

"It probably would take your mind off your brother," Gatomon nodded in silent agreement, "What do you say Kari? How about we have a day out?"

"I could go for some ice cream," Davis added, pointing out how hot it was suddenly, "It's humid out."

"What's ice cream?" DemiVeemon asked curiously. Davis gleefully explained it to his partner and asked, "How about you Kari? Want some?"

She looked at him nervously, folding her arms in front of her and frowning. Eventually, her eyes lit up and she nodded, "Oh, yeah. Sure."

"Alright! Let's go get some ice cream!" Davis punched the air excitedly.

* * *

Yolei spent her Saturday morning being awoken by her parents to go help out in the convenience store. Her parents decided that since she'd decided to go with her friends to the Digital, that meant every waking moment that she wasn't there or at school should be at the convenience store. It wasn't how she planned on spending the first hours of her weekend, but she didn't mind since Poromon accompanied her. Granted, he had to spend his time hiding under the counter to avoid drawing attention. Her elder sister occasionally fed him snacks whenever he asked and he always provided commentary on the people who came to pay at the register. This left her to restock the shelves with snacks, drinks, and other random things people needed to come in and get.

Yolei liked doing this because it gave her a chance to think. She hadn't gone to check on Ken since the first time, as he made it clear that he didn't want to see her. However, she at least hoped he was doing okay. Then she began to wonder if Kari had actually gone to her _brother's_ game since she was certain of the idea that Taichi was indeed Tamer. She looked over at her older sister, baffled that anyone could be as attached to an older sibling as she was. Then again, she probably never got to be around him enough to understand how annoying older siblings could perhaps, her brother actually was an awesome enough guy that Kari would be attached to him.

At the same time, Yolei would probably end up like Kari if one of her siblings were to just disappear - not die, just disappear. It was difficult to wrap her head around the idea of it. They wouldn't be dead, although everyone else would believe it while she alone would be the only one who knew that wasn't the case. She shook her head as she wondered how crazy she would seem if she'd been trying to convince everyone that one of her siblings was not only alive but trapped in another world.

She was brought out of her contemplations by the ring of the bell at the door. She poked her head up to see Cody coming inside, holding Upamon in his arms like a ball as he bounced excitedly. As soon as they were inside, his partner excitedly asked, "Cody! Cody! Is that Yolei?"

"Upamon, calm down! You're supposed to be a doll," Cody reminded his partner as he approached the counter. He bowed to Chizuru and asked, "Hi! Is Yolei here?"

Chizuru pointed at her and she went to join them, placing the food stuffs. She offered Cody and Upamon a smile, "Hey guys. What brings you here?"

"Upamon was getting hungry so I thought we'd come by to get some snacks," Cody answered quietly while his partner added, "All Cody's grandpa has is prune yogurt! Blech! You have tasty stuff! I can't get those chocolate bars out of my head!"

Cody frowned and tried to calm his partner by patting his head, "I'm sorry about Upamon. He's been a handful."

"Nah it's alright," Chizuru assured the boy, "To be honest, digimon would be a lot cuter if they all showed up like this. They're adorable and more manageable. Here, have some of the stuff I've been giving Poromon."

Before she could even offer him a chocolate bar, Upamon bounced atop Cody's head and onto the counter where Chizuru quickly ushered him beside Poromon. The two digimon ate hungrily and Chizuru adored them like they were a pair of puppies enjoying treats.

Cody shifted uncomfortably and seemed almost anxious, which Yolei noticed. The boy had never been good at hiding his anxiety when something bothered him and asked, "What's eating at you Cody?

He looked up at her and commented, "I didn't really come here to get snacks. I wanted to ask you about all this - that kid showing up that tje others call 'Tamer', the things the Emperor said, and Starmon."

"Yeah, what is it?" Yolei leaned in, curious to see where he was going with this. Cody took a deep breath, clearly unsure if he should say what was about to come out of his mouth, "Do you think we're the good guys in all this?"

"What? Of course we are! Why wouldn't we be?" Yolei asked, disbelieving everything she was hearing. Cody's eyes moved downward, "It's just...now that we know why the Emperor...I mean Ken, was doing what he was doing, I can't help but feel like we might not have done the right thing. I mean...looking at things from his side and how he acted when he saw his brother again. It was obvious he was just trying to get him back. And Starmon...do you think we did the best we could?"

"Of course we did," Yolei nodded, "We're even helping with the clean up now. What's brought all this on anyway?"

Cody looked over at their digimon, and Yolei's older sister cooing over them, before adding, "I was just thinking about the things we've come to understand about that Digimon Tamer and Agumon. They said he has the power to stop all of this if he wanted to, to prevent the bad things. Instead, he'll let it happen if it's _supposed_ to happen. I want to help out, I really do. But are we really helping if all we're doing is making things worse for someone else? Someone whom it's easy to see as a bad guy but might have been a good guy all along. This Tamer could've stopped Ken from becoming a bad guy but instead he allowed it to happen. And he's on our side. Can we really call ourselves the good guys then?"

"Well, yeah," Yolei replied quietly, now uncertain after listening to Cody's point. They were the good guys. They had to be. Otherwise, what was the point of anything they were doing. And those exact thoughts made her recall Ken's words in the Digital World. He'd asked what'd been the point of anything he'd done since none of it seemed to matter. It terrified her to think that she was being used in very much the same way but she shook those thoughts from her head just as the bell into the shop rang again.

Kari, Gatomon, Davis, and DemiVeemon strolled in to escape the summer heat. DemiVeemon was doing his best to be a doll while Gatomon walked casually like a cat. Yolei's sister barely noticed them but was aware enough of the cat like Gatomon, "Sorry, no pets allowed."

"Hey! Who're you calling a pet?" Gatomon asked aloud, leaping onto the counter to stare at Yolei's sister in the face. Chizuru backed away from the cat until Kari said, "Be nice Gatomon!"

Yolei dropped everything she was doing to join them, "Hey, what brings you guys in? I thought the gig wasn't until tomorrow."

"We're just hanging out, trying to get away from the heat," Davis mumbled quietly, already making his way to the freezer to go through the ice cream. DemiVeemon peeked at it excitedly, asking, "Ooh! Can we have some of that stuff!"

"No way. I'm going to get you some of the good stuff," the boy replied, producing a pair of ice cream sandwiches and cones in their wrappers. He handed one sandwich to DemiVeemon and asked, "How much?"

"Four hundred yen, all together," Chizuru replied, her mood souring slightly upon seeing the other digidestined here. Cody had been Yolei's friend for a long time so he more readily received a pass than these kids or their digimon could. After all, this had all started when they roped her into it. At least, from where she was standing. Davis nearly dropped the change he pulled out of his pocket upon hearing the price, glad that Kari hadn't noticed as she was busy chastising her partner.

Yolei noticed though and wondered why the two of them were together before an idea occurred to her, "You two aren't on a date today, are you?"

This time, both of them went red in the face which made Yolei giggle at their shyness until Gatomon explained, "Nothing like that. We just got back from Tamer's game. They won by the way. Or they were winning at the least."

"Huh," was all Yolei answered. Internally, she was wondering if something had gone horribly wrong in the world that both Motomiya's managed to spend time with someone of the opposite gender in something like a date. Although whether it could be called a date was another discussion. Then she wondered why Kari had contacted Davis instead of TK, contemplating the meaning to it. Watching Davis hand out the ice cream and seeing Kari happily enjoying the cone did put an impression in her head. If these two were together, at least they would make a cute couple.

Of course, Cody's partner lacked the class to understand this and asked aloud, "How come you went with Davis instead of TK?"

Kari nearly dropped her ice cream while Gatomon asked, "Why does everyone care who Kari spends her time with? She's her own person. Leave her be."

"Thank you, Gatomon," Kari stammered while Davis pretended to not have heard the question. All of this meant nothing as their D-Terminals beeped to indicate they'd recieved new messages. They all checked together, which caught Chizuru's attention as she'd never seen such devices, "Oh, cool. What are those things? I'd like to get one."

"They're D-terminals. We got'em with our digivices," Cody said quietly as he looked at it, "It's from TK. His mom is going to America during the summer break."

"It says her job is paying for it, and he says we're welcome to come if we want," Yolei jumped excitedly, until Chizuru added, "If you have mom and dad's permission."

"An opportunity like this doesn't come around often," Cody pointed out while Davis moaned, "Oh, man. I thought we were all going to the beach!"

"Well, we still have the concert tonight. We can talk about it then," Kari assured the boy.

* * *

The concert turned out to be a slot at a promotional event for an idol with several independent bands performing as a warm up for her. The digidestined met each other just outside the venue at one of public parks, where a crowd had gathered for a chance to see this idol. They also found Sora in the line just ahead of them, waiting to get in but she went back to join them in line, "Hey guys. Waiting to see Matt?"

"That's right. You too?" Kari asked. Sora nodded with a smile, "Yeah."

"And all these people are here to see him?" DemiVeemon asked curiously, until Davis covered his mouth, "Keep it down!"

"Is that a good idea?" Sora asked them with a finger at DemiVeemon, "School is one thing but a crowded event like this can't be safe."

"Relax. This place is crowded and everyone is so busy with what they're doing that they won't remember what's going on here," TK offered as an explanation, unaware of how careless he sounded. Sora looked around nervously to confirm what TK said and nodded in agreement, but cautioned, "Okay. But try to be careful, okay? The last thing we need is for you guys to get caught."

DemiVeemon led the smaller digimon into pushing their fingers to their lips, or those that had any. Gatomon rolled her eyes and meowed playfully, wagging her tail back and forth like a curious kitten before gesturing ahead that the line was moving. The crowd filed in, passing the posters for the idol who would be performing at this park with a small list of bands who would be opening for her. Davis looked at TK anxiously as they made their way inside, wanting to say something but unsure of when would be the best time.

TK noticed the unwanted attention and asked, "If you keep staring at me, I'm going to think you have a man crush on me. What's up?"

"Dude, not cool," Davis grumbled, igniting the snickers from their digimon. He shushed them to keep them quiet and answered, "It's nothing."

It wasn't but Davis didn't dare bring it up with the others around. He didn't want to make a scene , especially at what was supposed to be a fun thing. Once everyone was inside, the opening act started in earnest with each hand performing one song each. All the while, Davis looked over at TK anxiously. He knew what he wanted to say. To ask. But it wasn't the right time yet. Not while everyone was talking through the opening acts.

"So I heard you guys were coming up with plans for the summer," Sora said to them. Yolei nodded, "Yeah! We thought it'd be nice to do something since we only ever hang out when we're trying to save the Digital World."

"It'd probably keep you guys together," Sora added with a smile, "Us older kids kind of went back to doing our own thing. Well most of us. Izzy went out of his way to keep in touch with Mimi. And you already know I like Matt's music."

"So are you two together or what?" Yolei asked slyly, making the older girl blush, "What? No! We're just friends!"

"You spend a lot of time together for being just friends," Cody remarked, this time making Kari and their digimon giggle. Sora obviously didn't want to discuss this any more and fell quiet.

It took them a while, but Matt's band came on as the last opener. They came in their school uniforms and waved out to the crowd as they started chanting impatiently for the idol they'd come to see instead. Of course, it was obvious that some of the crowd was here to see his band and their cheers managed to drown out the calls for the idol. Once his band was on stage, they took up their instruments. The drummer opened with a soft rhythm, followed by the bass. Then the keys started playing in time with Matt's harmonica. The song was melancholy, a piece any of the band's fans would recognize. Then he opened the song.

" _Everybody's here with me,_

_We got no camera to see,_

_Don't think I'm all in this world,_

_The camera won't let me roll,_

_And the verdict doesn't love our soul,_

_The digital won't let me go._

_Yeah yeah yeah_

_I'll pay yeah_

_When tomorrow_

_Tomorrow comes_ today."

"Why'd you bring up the America thing?" Davis chose this time to ask, while the others were distracted by the song Matt performed. TK was pulled away from the enthralling music, "What?"

"Why'd you suggest America after I came up with the beach?" Davis asked again. TK raised an eyebrow, "Well, my mom is going to be going soon so I though you guys might like the chance to come along."

"I know but...why?" Davis asked again. TK shrugged, "I don't know. Things happen. I just kinda roll with the punches."

"That's not what I meant," Davis spat back just as TK finally caught on that he and Davis were not on the same wave length, "What's this about?"

Davis shook his head, "Never mind."

The wheels were still spinning in TK's head and realization hit him. He leaned in to ask, "You're just upset because you wanted to see Kari in a swim suit, didn't you?"

Davis's face went red and he whispered back, "That's not it at all. I'm upset because she's much rather do your thing than mine."

"Davis, it's not like that," TK tried reasoning with the boy, only to be met with a harsh reaction, "Maybe not to you but it's kinda obvious what she thinks about it."

"We're just going to see a friend," TK states only to be rebuked by Davis, "You keep saying that. It doesn't mean anything. But how many more times will you say it before it does mean something?"

The two held eye contact for a longer time than either was comfortable admitting. It was a question that TK hadn't considered and it left him speechless. Now he was second guessing Kari's actions. The final lyrics of Matt's song echoed the mood well.

" _Stereo I want it on,_

_It's taken me far too long,_

_Don't think I'm all in this world,_

_Don't think I'll be here too long,_

_Don't think I'll be here too long,_

_Don't think I'll be here too long,_

_Yeah yeah yeah, I'll pay,_

_When tomorrow,_

_Tomorrow comes today_."

The band played one final note and let it fade out. Anticipation rose as the crowd awaited the idol they came to see. To their dismay, Matt spoke in to the microphone, "Who's ready to see your favorite singer out on stage!"

Cheers arose from the audience as Matt signaled the band and he smiled. He signaled for the crowd to be quiet and he asked, "Then help us call her out onto the stage!"

The Teenage Wolves started playing another, more upbeat tune that contrasted the previous one they played. The reaction was mixed; the band's fans were excited while the idol's fans were enraged at the band upstaging their idol. In spite of it, Matt began singing right away,

" _It's the music that we choose,_

_It's the music that we choose,_

_It's the music that we choose,_

_It's the music that we choose, polyester!_

_It's the music that we choose,_

_It's the music that we choose,_

_It's the music that we choose,_

_It's the music that we choose,_

_The world is spinning too fast,_

_I'm buyin' that Nike shoes_

_To keep myself tethered_

_To the days I tried to lose, polyester!_

_My mama said to slow down,_

_You must make your own shoes,_

_Stop dancing to the music,_

_Of Gorillaz in a happy mood, polyester!_

_Keep a mild groove on_!"

There was a beat as the band kept playing without Matt's vocals. Then he strummed his guitar and a girl's voice sang out, "Here we go!"

A high school aged girl ran out onto the stage dressed in a beautiful outfit and with a microphone in hand. Her appearance led to a roar from the crowd, excited to see the idol they came to see. She raised the microphone as Matt started playing an instrumental.

" _Get the cool, lalalala,_

_Get the cool shoeshine! lalalala,_

_Get the cool, lalalala,_

_Get the cool shoeshine! lalalala,_

_Get the cool, lalalala,_

_Get the cool shoeshine! lalalala,_

_Get the cool, lalalala,_

_Get the cool shoeshine! lalalala,_ "

As she finished, Matt stopped his guitar and let the rest of his band play for a while before continuing his verse in the song.

" _There's a monkey in the jungle,_

_Watchin' a vapour trail,_

_Caught up in the conflict,_

_Between his brain and his tail,_

_And if time's elimination,_

_Then we got nothin' to lose,_

_Please repeat the message,_

_It's the music that we choose,_

_Keep a mild groove on!"_

As the idol went on to sing again, Davis scoffed and mumbled to his partner. The others noticed him starting to leave and Kari called after him, "Davis, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said back, "I'm heading home. I'll see you guys later."

He walked away from the others quietly, leaving them as Matt's song continued to play with the idol on stage.


	23. Kids in America

_"Looking out a dirty old window._

_Down below the cars in the city go rushing by._

_I sit here alone and I wonder why."_

Kari switched off the music player on the airplane and looked out the window to see nothing but blue skies and ocean far below. Gatomon slept in her lap, curled up like a doll. Beside her, TK's mom had fallen asleep with a night mask on and TK himself had adjusted his hat to hide his face, with his partner poking his head out of his bag.

The others had asked and none of their parents were willing to send their kids on an international excursion. Thankfully, Kari's parents were more willing to let her spend the first few days of summer in another part of the world although she suspected they were going to work out some things that they didn't want her to see. She'd always worried that her parents' marriage may fall apart again and the thought she may come home to only her mom again scared her. But she tried to forget about that for now.

In a few more hours, their plane would land and they would set foot in another country - where only TK's mom spoke the language but that was an after thought as it meant they'd get to see Mimi again. However, this didn't mean they would mind the chance to tour the city when they could. After all, Mimi would have to be in school most of the time.

* * *

Michael ran for his life, looking over his shoulder down the empty street in a panic. He was just planning to see Mimi for the first time since he'd come back from Japan. He never expected this to happen. He didn't know that this would happen when he became a digidestined. Betamon poked his head out from his arms and asked, "Did we lose it?"

"I don't know," Michael answered, not sure what it was they saw or why it was after him. He hurried into a nearby book store, finding it just as empty as the street, but ran into the back. It just didn't make sense. It was midday in New York City. Where was everybody? It had been crowded just moments ago before that thing showed up - along with another boy and digimon he'd never seen before.

He hid behind a book case, breathing heavy and scared out of his mind that the thing was still chasing them. Betamon asked, "Are we safe?"

"I don't know. You may have to digivolve," Michael replied, gasping for breath and terrified, "The whole city is wrong. What the hell are we fighting?"

"Don't interfere," he heard its voice echo. Michael felt a chill and looked up to see it standing in front of him with big dead eyes. His heart stopped and his blood ran cold as it loomed in. He heard his partner say something but it was lost in the cold dead eyes drawing closer to his face, "Don't interfere."

* * *

In another place and time long ago, The Digimon Tamer and Agumon retreated further behind the front lines. The sounds of explosions and gun fire rang out in the distance, accompanied by the shouts of commands and the screams of the dying. Above them were countless worlds come ablaze from conflict and stars made of the debris of other once shining worlds. If hell was real, Tamer was certain it had nothing compared to this place.

The only reprieve was the knowledge that they were far from the fighting, yet every sound reminded them that it could easily catch up to them. They'd only just returned from their mission to track down the rogue Diaboromon that had escaped to the 'internet', a costly mission which ended with the loss of the rest of their squad and were quickly thrown back out to find another one. It had escaped another squad and was on the verge of jumping to the Real World again. Based on the last report, it would've still been in its rookie phase and wouldn't be capable of digivolving until it got to a later stage somewhere else.

They traveled all night to the last area it had been sighted: Primary Village, before they'd lost contact with the squad who had been pursuing it. They're they found the rogue Keramon floating aimlessly over two digieggs beside several smashed ones. Around it was a small dense fog, likely the remains of the squad originally sent to stop it. It waved its hands through the air in an attempt to open a portal to no effect. Through unspoken understanding, the two partners split up and positioned themselves to ambush it - a pincer attack from both sides to take it off guard. At the agreed upon signal, the two charged the Keramon just as a portal managed to open around it - a gate to another world.

"Don't let it escape!" Tamer shouted, using his digivice to keep the gate open.

"Yeah, no kidding," Agumon dove at the portal, latching on to the rogue Keramon just as it fled into the portal. Tamer has held the portal open for too long and watched it begin to pull the surrounding area into it. Tamer worked his digivice, getting it ready to close this poorly made gate before it consumed everything around it. He could already see the smashed digieggs get pulled in. The two intact ones held on a little longer but they too eventually gave in to its appetite.

Once his digivice was ready, Tamer leapt through the portal after his partner and pushed the button on his digivice - slamming the portal shut just as he passed through into the other world. He found himself slamming against a bedroom wall and bouncing onto a soft bed where the pair of digieggs landed on his head. They rolled aside and came to a rest on a pillow, just as Tamer became aware of the jostling noises coming from his partner.

Agumon and the Keramon rolled along the floor, grunting and groaning with each blow they dealt to each other until eventually, Agumon pinned it underneath him. He bore his teeth at it, "Quit squirming! Hold still you little-"

"Stop stalling Agumon," Tamer complained as he massaged his head, "Put it down before it gets away."

"Pepper Breath!" Agumon shouted, spitting out fire onto the Keramon that made it squeal in agony as it came aflame. Agumon kept it pinned, making sure it didn't get away before it dissipated to nothing. The dinosaur breathed a moment, calming his nerves and heaving a deep breath once he was standing up, "Well, that's my exercise for the day. Can we go home now?"

"One second. We can't leave a trace," Tamer stated, ignoring the burn marks on the floor, "Where did those two eggs go?"

"Eggs?"

"Yeah, some of the digieggs got pulled through with us when that Keramon opened its half baked gate. Where'd they go?" Tamer states, gazing around the empty room in search of where the eggs had rolled. In the commotion, they'd rolled off the pillow and disappeared. As he scanned the room, he took note of a small window that looked out upon a sunny field of corn and a thin dirt road that went out some distance before disappearing into the horizon. It was daylight outside, which likely meant nobody would've been home.

That was a relief, because the last thing he wanted to deal with was more outsiders who'd witnessed something they shouldn't have. It seemed he'd been too hopeful as he found the eggs sitting at the feet of a small blonde haired boy standing at the door, staring in wide eyed disbelief. Both Tamer and Agumon cursed their luck while the kid commented on their language, "You should be glad my mom and dad aren't home. You two would be in trouble."

"They're not home?" Tamer asked, looking over at the boy with concern before grinning from ear to ear, "That's good. That'll make it easier. Who are you?"

"Mom said not to talk to strangers," the boy shied away. Tamer strolled to the boy's side and put an arm around him, "Well a stranger's just a friend you haven't met yet. I'm the Digimon Tamer!"

"And I'm Agumon!" Agumon said, waving at the little boy before turning to Tamer, "We don't have time for this Tamer. We're on a time table."

"Let control sweat over it for a little bit," Tamer said as he guided the boy back into the room, "So, whats your name?"

The boy looked at them shyly, "I'm Willis."

"Okay, Willis. What's a kid your age doing home alone by themselves? Shouldn't you be in school? Or are you playing hooky? I can respect that. School's not very fun anyway."

"It's summer," the boy replied quietly, before turning to Agumon nervously, "How did you guys come out of my computer? Is this like that one movie? Am I going to be shot with a laser?"

"Tamer, we really should be getting back," Agumon frowned, scooping up the two eggs in his hands, "We need to return these."

"I have a better idea," Tamer let go of the boy to relieve his partner of the eggs, "They'll destroy these eggs before they have a chance to hatch…you know, their nonsense destiny policies and maintaining order and not interfering. So, let's leave them. Report they were lost. They're not going to look into it and these eggs get a chance at life."

"That is a terrible idea. We have no idea what's going to come out of these eggs!" Agumon countered while Willis watched them anxiously. He ignored his partner and presented the eggs to the little boy, "Sure we do. It'll be a couple of new friends for you."

"What? I can't take these! My parents are going to be mad at me!"

"Well I think it's safe to say that you should be mad at your parents," Tamer said as he thrust the eggs into Willis' hands, "After all, they left you home alone to…why did they leave you home alone?"

"They're at work," Willis answered sheepishly, "Why am I telling you that?"

Tamer shrugged and smiled stupidly, "I don't know. I guess I have one of those faces. People are always telling me…never mind, I think I did that one already."

"Time, Tamer," Agumon said impatiently, "You're wasting it."

"Right, right. Look, your parents decided to leave you home alone while they went to go do boring stuff at work. To be honest, I have no idea what a kid like you does for fun around here when it looks like you have nothing but open field out there. Which means you're probably bored a lot."

"Not really, as long as I have TV," Willis replied quietly until Tamer grunted. He pushed the eggs into the boy's hands, "Which means you'll want some friends to spend time with too! Have fun with them! I'm sure you three will learn to love each other! Come on, Agumon. We have a war to win."

Tamer spun on his heels to return to the computer while Willis ran up to them with the eggs jostling in his arms, "Wait! What am I supposed to do with these?"

"Raise them! When they hatch, they'll need feeding and you'll want to keep them warm. Be careful though, before you know it they'll be walking and talking and doing all kinds of things. Which means they'll be talking back. And then puberty sets in. Just be sure you don't let them bicker. That'd be a problem," Tamer nodded with a smile. Agumon tapped his foot impatiently, watching Tamer make his way to a small computer on the desk before asking, "This is a terrible idea."

"Have some faith. Digiport open!"

The screen flashed a bright white light that blinded Willis, until it passed and he saw they weren't in his room any more. He looked around at the mess they'd made and the two eggs he'd been left with. While he wasn't unhappy with the new friends he would have, he wasn't sure how he would explain this to his parents, "Mom and dad are going to be so mad."

* * *

As soon as they got past airport security, TK and Kari were greeted by Mimi excitedly at the airport. The security was higher than anything they encountered in Japan and the number of armed men standing at the terminal gate was alarming, but it didn't spoil the mood. As it happened, she was also free from school for the summer although she'd have to attend summer school to make up for the missed classes and assignments that she'd missed during her several day excursion to another country.

They caught up with each other as they traveled to the hotel his mom booked for them to stay in. Naturally, Kari had her own room to keep her separate from TK, despite TK's protests that he wasn't going to do anything and that he could be trusted. Neither Gatomon nor Patamon commented on it, and Mimi was amused by his mom's insinuation. Of course TK suspected his mother booked three rooms just to make it more expensive for her job back in Japan. A colleague of hers had gone quiet and she was going to go pay him a visit.

Once everything was settled, TK's mom allowed them to go tour the city while she went to do her journalistic coverage. They brought their digimon along with them, wanting to show them more of their world besides just their school. As they walked along, Mimi asked the question that had been eating at her, "How did you get your parents to agree to let you come out?"

"Mom and dad wanted me out for a while," Kari said quietly, "I'm worried that there's something going on they don't want me there for. The last time this happened was after Tai…"

Gatomon sighed, "You're kind of a downer, y'know? We're in a new city that none of us have ever been too. Forget about that and let's go have fun!"

"Yeah," Kari nodded and smiled weakly, "So how're things here? I know you're dad was upset so I'm surprised he even let you come visit us."

"Oh…he thinks I'm in summer school," Mimi looked away nervously. The other digidestined weren't surprised, but TK did ask, "So how'd Michael fare?"

"His parents were mad and grounded him. I haven't seen him in a while and I think his parents are blocking my calls," Mimi answered sheepishly, "Come to think of it, I haven't seen him in a while. I hope he's okay."

"How about other digidestined? Have you met any?" Patamon asked at a low whisper. Mimi shook her head, "No, none."

"So where are we going to first?" Patamon asked as quietly as he could to avoid the attention of the crowds around them. TK patted his partners head and said, "Well, we thought we'd go to ground zero first…to see if for ourselves and pay our respects."

"What's ground zero?" Gatomon asked curiously, unfamiliar with the history of the Real World. The explanation was awkward, and they had to whisper parts of it - but the more they spoke, the more their digimon understood the significance of the place they were going. But this didn't stop Gatomon from pointing out, "That sounds like the most depressing place to go for a vacation. Why aren't we going literally anywhere else?"

"We will," Kari promised her partner, "We can always stop by the other places in the city: the Empire State Building, Central Park, Madison Square Garden, the Statue of Liberty...there's plenty of places we can go."

Gatomon grunted her disapproval and leapt up onto Kari's shoulder, "Whatever, I'm tired of walking. How much further?"

"You slept through most of the plane ride!" Kari pointed out.

"Not far. Just a few more blocks," Mimi said, guiding them through the busy city with its endless traffic and large crowds. As they went about the city, the number of armed police officers they passed increased. They'd never seen so many armed police outside of Myotismon's invasion but Mimi explained that this had been common after what'd happened. An air of uncertainty and fear descended around the city after it happened, as if everyone was expecting something else to go happen at any moment.

They reached their destination to find a massive crater in the middle of the city, several blocks large and several feet deep. Crews were still working to move wreckage out of the way and clear the site for future construction projects. Visitors were leaving flowers and candles beside memorials that had been put in place of those who perished with the monuments that used to be there, both the official memorials and the ones made by the families of the victims - photos decorated the memorials, marked by flags big and small in a show of patriotism.

They didn't linger long as the unwanted attention from others made them uncomfortable. There was no denying that they stood out in a sea of Americans and just being there seemed to offend some of them. So, they went to a nearby coffee shop for a quick lunch break and then made their way to Central Park. Here, the mood was much warmer and they weren't given as many looks as they expected.

Gatomon and Patamon were astounded by the sheer scope of the massive park - mistaking it for a forest within the city but Mimi explained that the city's population was so large that it was put there to give people something to do. Around them, others were enjoying the sunny day too - relaxing in the sun beside the lake in the middle or the park. For the five of them, it was just enough to get away for a day. After taking some photos around the park, they took the time to lie in the grass and bath in the warm glow of the sun.

Then it became quiet. Deathly quiet. TK was the first to notice and looked around them, "That's weird. Why's it so silent?"

Patamon sat up on and noted the empty park as well, "It's not nap time, is it?"

"New York is the city that never sleeps," Mimi sat up and looked around, "No such thing as nap time. Where is everyone?"

"This park gets kinda creepy when you're the only one here," Gatomon nodded as she looked around the park. Devoid of life and unnerved by the absence of others, they decided to return to the hotel store any trouble appeared. As they walked, they realized that not only the park but the rest of the city was eerily quiet - cars sat empty in the street, stores were open but unattended with open registers and full shopping baskets left on the floor. Not a sound could be heard anywhere around them, not even the sound of animals. There was only the deafening silence that reached out around them.

* * *

Time passed after the surprise visit from the people from his computer. Under Willis care, the eggs hatched and the beings born from them grew up. They called themselves digimon or Digital Monsters - creatures from another world. Plenty of time had passed since they'd disappeared. Enough that he'd learn to take care of the eggs in secret from his parents. Both were suspicious of his behavior at first but left him alone as they decided he was simply developing a sense of privacy. It was just as well too as the two newborn digimon proved to be a handful. They were always hungry and he'd take extra helpings to his room so they could eat it. They were always energetic and looking for something to do also, which helped mitigate the boredom and loneliness that Willis had long grown accustomed to.

When they finally matured enough to talk, he learned their true names: the green blob with floppy ears was Gummymon and the brown blob with three points on her head was Kokomon. They didn't know much about the world they came from or anything about the two strangers who left them under his care, but it didn't seem to bother them. Rather, they expressed more curiosity with the world around them, always wanting to go out and explore more of the world around them.

Their curiosity of the world was tempered after one night, when he awoke to them hiding under his blanket in fear of something else in his room. Half awake and barely aware of what was going on, he asked, "What's wrong?"

"There's something here," Kokomon whimpered, "Something bad."

"It just showed up," Gummymon's lower lip trembled. Kokomon added, "It wants to leave…but it can't."

Willis rubbed his tired eyes, certain that there was nothing else in the room with them. Then again, he never knew until now that there were monsters from other worlds so perhaps he was due for another surprise.

It took his eyes time to adjust to the darkness, but it didn't stop him from noticing the light coming from the computer in his room. When he sat up to get a better look, he could see the familiar outline of the boy with crazy hair sitting in front of the screen. He was talking to it in a hushed whisper about correcting a mistake but he was so groggy that he couldn't make sense of any of it. Then, the boy fell quiet when he noticed Willis was awake. He smiled and patted the boy's head, gently greeting, "Hey there Willis. Long time no see. So it's your room that the signal is coming from, huh? How long has it been since I was last here?"

Willis recognized the voice and he jolted awake now, looking at Tamer in surprise. He hadn't aged a day but he sounded older and more tired. He had a weary look that Willis hadn't noticed before as he answered, "It's been about a year. Why are you here? You're not taking them away, are you?"

"He's taking us away?" the brown Kokomon whimpered quietly from the bed. Tamer patted the blob's head and added, "Of course not. Why would I do that? I can't take you guys with me. There's a war on and we're not…well, we're not doing great. They'd kill you the moment they looked at you."

Willis had no idea what he was talking about but he was more scared now than he'd ever been. The two digimon who'd become his friends were just as scared and retreated further into his blanket. As Tamer sat down on the bed, "I don't have a lot of time so I'll be quick. There's something else here in this room. I think it's the thing Agumon and I destroyed last time we were here. I guess it didn't die. I don't think it can in this world anyway. I'll have to keep that in mind. Sorry, things that aren't supposed to happen aren't my specialty."

He fiddled with the device he had in his hands until it produced a bright white light that cooled and folded to form another one. He handed the new device to Willis and explained, "I don't think it's strong enough to manifest now. Or it is and it's smart enough to know not to come out. Either way, you'll be needing this to protect yourselves for the day when it does show up."

"Where's the other one…the dinosaur?" Willis asked him. Tamer stood up and made his way back to the computer, "He's trying to bring a bomb to a city so we can stop a puppet from making everyone fight each other."

He saw the skeptical look on Willis's face and smiled, "Don't worry, he'll be fine. I'm not so sure about the puppet. I have to go now - spent too much time here. Must be weeks or months back there. Good luck Willis. And you too…tiny digimon things."

Tamer disappeared back into the computer with a bright flash of light, leaving them behind in the darkened room with nothing but confusion. It would be a while before anything Tamer said to them made sense. However, it seemed Gummymon was able to relax now. Only Kokomon continued to remain terrified and uneasy. The first signs appeared days later when Kokomon complained of voices that no one else could hear. Kokomon always looked to Gummymon to confirm that the voices were real but Gummymon couldn't hear it. That didn't meant Gummymon didn't feel the cold chills Kokomon felt.

Months later, when they digivolved again to Lopmon and Terriermon, Lopmon would insist that the voice had become more frequent and disturbed. Again, Terriermon heard nothing and Willis' concern for his partner grew. He wanted to understand his partner's behavior, why she heard voices no one else could but was left only with the knowledge of what Tamer said - something was coming and the device was there to help him. He just wasn't sure how to use it, but that didn't mean it didn't help in anyway. Anytime he brought it out, Lopmon's anxiety and complaints of voices went down. Especially since Lopmon became erratic and violent whenever he tried showing it to her, lashing out for no reason and often seeking seclusion. This just left him fearful of what it could possibly have meant, though.

* * *

TK, Kari, Mimi, Patamon, and Gatomon hurried through the city back to their hotel, finding only empty streets and abandoned buildings with every step they took. With every block, they grew more nervous and fearful of the isolation. It was as if everyone in the city vanished without a trace. When they were a block away from the hotel, they heard the noise of panic and pleading coming from an alley. The group stopped to examine the dead end alley, cut off from the rest of the branching pathway by a chain link fence covered in posters and littered with garbage. Beyond it was a blonde haired boy about their age in a white long sleeve shirt under a red base ball jersey and blue shorts. At his feet stood a short, white digimon with long floppy ears and green markings along his body. In front of them was a large brown mutated rabbit wearing a hat with long ears coming down the side. The boy pleaded, "Wendigomon! Stop this! You can't keep doing this to us!"

"She can't hear you, Willis," the little digimon at the boy's feet said, "Even if she could, I bet she would do it anyway."

"This isn't the partner I remember," Willis continued to plead, "Stop hurting people. Put everyone back and let's stop this! Once for all."

Wendigomon grunted her reply with a deep gravelly voice, "Go back."

"Back where? To Colorado?" Willis asked aloud, as his partner drew closer. Wendigomon grunted again, "Back to…the beginning."

Then she leapt towards Willis. The little digimon at his feet tried to tackle the larger digimon, hoping to buy time for Willis to run but bounced away. It scrambled to its feet and shouted, "That's right, I've been spoiling for a fight! Let's go you big lummox!"

"Terriermon! Don't!" Willis called out to his partner, too late to stop them from fighting. The younger digidestined stood slack jawed and looked at Mimi, "Is he another digidestined like Michael?"

"I don't know, I guess?" Mimi shrugged, "I don't get it, where do these people keep coming from? Where do these digimon keep coming from!? I swear, if Tamer is picking on me, I'm going to kick his ass!"

"Here's a better question. We're in America, right? No one here understands the language that you guys speak right?" Gatomon pointed out seriously, "And no one besides Mimi can speak the language. So how come we can understand him? Shouldn't he be speaking American?"

"It's English," Kari corrected, "And that's a good question. Why is he speaking Japanese?"

TK tried to bring them back into focus, pointing the boy out as he fled, "We gotta help them. They look like they're in trouble."

"They look like they're doing fine to me," Gatomon noted, watching as Terriermon used his smaller frame to his advantage by weaving through Wendigomon's punches until he ran up her arm to bite her nose. Wendigomon growled and hissed in pain, pulling Terriermon off and throwing the little digimon out of the alley. Willis ran off after his partner and Wendigomon grunted, before following. Mimi sighed, "You were saying? Let's get in there already!"

Urged by Mimi, they hurried around the block to where the alley exited back out on to the street. Willis had taken cover behind an empty taxi, peeking out to see Wendigomon and Terriermon continue their brawl out onto the street. In this large open space, Wendigomon had more room to move and freely swung at the little rookie digimon. Fortunately, the cars, benches, trees, and street signs provided ample cover for Terriermon as he retreated from one to another.

From behind a parked car, TK tried calling out to Willis to get his attention but the boy's attention stayed on the fight going on in front of him. So, he knowingly ran out of cover despite Kari and Mimi's protests to join the boy, "Hey! What are you doing!? We need to get out of here?"

Willis turned to look at him with surprise on his face, mouth hanging open in disbelief, "What? You're here? HOW? No, wait. Forget that! Go, or Wendigomon will get you guys too!"

"Get us?" TK repeated quietly, looking back at the two brawling digimon, "It looks distracted to me. Now come on!"

He grabbed Willis' hand to pull him to safety, but his hand slipped through as the boy tried to pull away, "You don't understand! Stay away from me!"

"Don't worry! We can help," Patamon said from TK's arms, drawing Willis's attention to the digimon for the first time, "You have one too!?"

Patamon waved, "Hiya! Let us help!"

Willis looked like he'd been hit by a truck but his attention was pulled back to his partner gasping for help, "WILLIS! She has me in a corner! We need to get out of here!"

"Ye-yeah," Willis ran from behind cover, running to Terriermon's side and sliding in front of Wendigomon, "Wendigomon! This has to stop! We'll go back to Colorado! Now please! Stop this!"

Wendigomon roared defiantly, forcing Willis to produce a digivice from within his coat pocket. The goliath of a digimon looked at the little blonde boy with a broken smile, eyes wide with terror at mere sight of it. She backed away slowly, obviously terrified of the digivice and backing away. She let out a warning growl before fading away like smoke, disappearing before their eyes.

Willis collected Terriermon and looked back at them with terror in his eyes. TK tried to step towards him but Willis said back, "Don't. Keep away from us."

"We're trying to help you," TK pointed out until Willis said more defiantly, "We don't need your help. For your own safety, leave us alone!"

"It'd be hard to help you if we did that," TK replied just as a truck passed in front of the boy, blaring its horn. When the truck moved along, both of them were gone - replaced by a bustling city street and the noise of a busy city. Any damage from the fight had been undone, as if the little battle hadn't happened. Life returned to the city, stunning TK until a car honked at him. The driver shouted something at him he didn't understand until Mimi ran out into the street to pull him back to the sidewalk. She offered some kind of apology back to the driver, which he returned with a grumble and a rude gesture. TK asked, "What was that about?"

"You were standing out in traffic!" Mimi scolded him, "What do you think it was about!?"

"It looks like the people are back," Gatomon commented as Kari finally joined them, "Bet it had something to do with those guys we just saw."

"Where do you think they went?" TK asked quietly. Patamon recalled, "He said Colorado. What is that? A town?"

Mimi answered for them, "It's a state on the other side of the country. Over a thousand miles."

"A thousand miles, huh?" TK mused, rubbing his chin in a thoughtful way that worried the others. Kari shook her head, "TK, I get it. You want to help but we're already on the other side of the world and Mimi's in enough trouble. We're not going to the other side of America!"

"Yeah, it'd be a terrible idea," TK nodded quietly, "But it'd be even worse to do nothing when there's someone who needs our help."

"So…how do we find them?" Mimi asked, "Colorado's kind of a big place and they could be anywhere in that."

"Destiny's been on our side before," TK nodded quietly, "I say we should just wing it and go."

Kari face palmed, unsure of what she was expecting him to say while Mimi snickered, "You've really become a delinquent, haven't you."

Kari groaned the loudest and produced her D-Terminal from her pocket, "If we're going to be doing this, then we're going to need back up. The others can come and help us out. Besides, I'm sure Davis is missing me right now and he'll want an excuse to come along."

"If he couldn't come with us before, I doubt his parents will let him come now that digimon are involved," Gatomon sighed, shaking her head in disbelief. TK patted the little cat's head and added, "Like I said. It seems like destiny is on our side all the time. They'll find a way, somehow."

* * *

In Japan, Davis's plan of going to the beach did come along although Yolei and Cody did it largely as consolation for him since Kari, Gatomon, TK, and Patamon had gone to America without him. The two did their best to cheer him up but Kari's absence obviously weighed on him more than he cared to let anyone know. Still, this didn't stop them from spoiling what fun they did have. Cody spent his time making sand castles with Upamon, while Yolei and Poromon sunbathed. DemiVeemon tried to get Davis to cheer up by playing in the water, splashing at him and squealing in delight the moment Davis decided to return the favor and splash him back.

At the end of the day, they took the bus back into town and sat in the back to avoid getting the attention of the others commuting back after a long day at work. Their partners slept on their laps quietly, seemingly out of the boundless energy that they usually had. Now, of all times, Cody felt was his chance to finally ask Davis why he'd been so quiet the last few days. Of course he knew why. He just wasn't sure where to begin talking to Davis about it and clumsily began, "We had fun today, didn't we?"

"Yep. Haven't seen DemiVeemon this happy since we first met," Davis said with a dumb smile on his face. Yolei added, "You had fun too, right?"

"I guess," Davis shrugged, turning his attention out the window. Cody raised an eyebrow and asked, "You're bummed about Kari aren't you?"

Davis's expression remained unreadable but he did nod quietly. Before Cody could press the question further, they heard their D-Terminals beep together with life. They'd expected to hear from TK and Kari once they were in America, certain they were having fun but never expected the message they received.

_Guys_

_Found another digidestined in America. He's in trouble and being chased by a strong digimon. We need your help to save him._

_Kari_

They all looked at each other in silence. Yolei sighed, "Well that didn't take long."

Cody asked, "How are we going to get to America?"

Yolei scratched her head, "I have an uncle who's a pilot, but I doubt the airline company are going to let him stow away a bunch of kids just for a free round trip."

"It worked for Mimi," Davis pointed out.

Cody looked down at the message on the D-Terminal again, knowing they had to help but unsure of how to do so without getting to America. More importantly, how were they going to be away for several days without either of their parents knowing. The questions burned in his mind until a thought occurred to him. It was such a simple thought that he felt silly for not thinking of sooner and he had to act upon it immediately. He looked over at Yolei, "Hey Yolei. Do you think we can stop by Ken's place real quick?"

"I guess. Why? What's wrong Cody?" Yolei asked back as Cody's expression became contemplative, "I was just wondering how the Emperor got to the Digital World from his place. And if there might be more than one gate."

"Hey! Good idea Cody!" Davis said excitedly, obviously ready to jump at the chance of meeting Kari again, "Okay, Yolei. Which stop is Ichijouji's place?"


	24. Cross Country Road Trip

Ken excused himself from the dinner table after finishing his second bowl of soup. He'd never asked for seconds before and his parents weren't sure what it meant. On the one hand, it was a change from his clockwork routine that made them happy. To his parents, it was as if he'd stopped being a machine. On the other hand, it left them concerned that there might have been other changes to his personality after whatever happened to him. He still wasn't talking about it which concerned them. However, they didn't want to make him talk about it before he was ready, otherwise they risked him reverting back to his near catatonia.

He took a third bowl of soup and thanked them both for dinner before returning to his room to be with his partner Minomon. The little blob with a leaf on his head had matured to have little arms and ears, with the single leaf replaced by a long wispy strand on its head. The rest of its body was hidden inside a brown shell resembling a rough pine cone. Upon seeing Ken, Minomon gleefully said, "Alright! You're back! Food! Food!"

Ken set the bowl down on his desk and carried his partner there to eat it, "Calm down. You'll get us in trouble if you get caught."

Minomon was already too busy slurping down the food to care about anything he had to say, and Ken just sat at his desk watching the little digimon eat. He wondered if this was how Sam felt when he looked after Ken. And then his mood soured as fresh memories of killing his brother returned. He closed his eyes and tried to push that memory out, breathing slowly and calmly to maintain his composure. It seemed he couldn't do anything right - as if the universe itself had chosen to conspire against him. Minomon sensed his guilt and stopped eating, "Ken...you know what you need right now to get you out of your slump? Jumping jacks! Get your blood pumping and your brain thinking!"

As he spoke, Minomon started bouncing on the desk excitedly with his arms flailing in something resembling an exercise. It brought a smile to Ken's face until he noticed the bowl of soup shaking, and he swiped it away before Minomon knocked it over, "I don't think that'd be such a good idea this late. Maybe in the morning?"

"No! Now!" Minomon said excitedly, jumping up and down. Ken sighed and pulled his partner to the bed to hug him until he heard a knock on the door. Then he covered his partner's mouth and threw him under the covers just as his mom stepped in, "Ken, honey. Your friends are here."

"Hm? Friends?" Ken repeated, unsure of who would be coming here to see him. He barely talked to anyone at school and his teammates on the soccer team were always too intimidated by him to want to talk to him. He rose up from his bed, making sure to keep Minomon under the covers as he went to inspect who was waiting for him. To his surprise and frustration, the digidestined had come all together this time: Davis, Yolei, and Cody holding their partners who seemed to be doing their best to pretend to be dolls. It took a great deal of effort to keep his calm facade but he nodded and smiled at them, "Oh. Hi."

"Heya Ken," Davis pushed past his mom with a big, stupid grin, "Nice room you got here. So what've you been up to buddy? We haven't seen you in days!"

"I've been here," he answered sheepishly while Yolei followed suit, "So, how are you feeling since...y'know?"

"Fine," he said quietly, growing more anxious the longer her mother stood in the doorway. Cody bowed respectfully towards his mother as he entered, and she smiled while closing the door, "I'll just leave you kids alone. Have fun!"

Ken waited a second before locking the door to keep his mom out and turned to face them, "What are you doing here?"

"We need your help," Cody stated plainly, "Kari and TK are in America. They said there's another digidestined there who needs help and we have to get there as soon as possible."

"Again, why are you here?" Ken repeated himself, as his partner dug himself out of the covers, "Are we going to play a game?"

"I like games," DemiVeemon squealed excitedly, leaping out of Davis' arms and on to Minomon, "DOGPILE!"

"That looks fun! I'm joining," Upamon added, leaping out of Cody's arms while his partner chastised him. It took Ken going over to them and pulling the sheets out from under them to get them to stop, "Keep it down. My parents are going to wonder what all the extra voices are."

"So do you know a way there?" Davis asked curiously, as if he didn't care for what he said. Ken looked at them dismissively, "Why are you even asking for my help? What does this have to do with me? Get on a plane!"

"We thought you might know a way there through the Digital World," Cody explained his idea to him, "I mean, we only knew about the one gate there in our school. But if you were getting there without that gate, then that must mean you had your own gate to get there. Which means you probably know where there are other gates!"

Ken scoffed at the logic. Not the conclusions they reached, but the fact that they had been able to reach that conclusion at all on their own. He took another breath to keep his blood from boiling, realizing anger would do him no good. Although he did know where other gates were, he didn't think they'd ever ask him for his help. Especially after what happened - endangering countless digimon, putting them in harm's way and attempting to hurt them. Right now, he wanted to leave it all behind him. He shook his head, "I don't want anything more to do with the Digital World. Leave me alone."

"Dude! You're a digidestined just like us! And other digidestined are in trouble! You have to help us!" Davis tried to explain to Ken only to be rebuked, "Some help I am. With my luck, I'll just get you guys killed!"

They took a step back from Ken as he rounded on them, "Seriously, for your own good. Figure it out without me."

A moment's silence followed before he asked, "Why are you even here? Why would you guys want to be anywhere near me after everything I did?"

Yolei looked at her little partner before answering, "I'd be lying if I didn't admit I'm upset about getting taken hostage and being thrown into that weird…maze thing."

Ken felt his anger deflate, replaced with regret as Yolei stepped back quietly. However, Cody added something he didn't expect, "You've done a lot of bad things and hurt a lot of digimon. You're not going to make up for any of it if you sit here feeling sorry for yourself. It certainly isn't helping you feel better. If you want to start making up for the things you've done, you can start by helping us find a gate to America!"

Ken grumbled under his breath, muttering about wanting to be left alone but aware that he was being offered the chance to make up for the wrongs he'd committed. However, right now he just wanted to be left alone, "If I help you, will you leave me alone?"

"Well yeah, for now," Yolei nodded. Ken sighed and approached his computer, "Okay. Come with me. Just...try not to touch anything."

"Alright! So where are we going?" Davis asked excitedly, joining Ken beside the computer and standing too close for comfort. Ken inched away from him and answered, "The Hollow Bastion...it's the place where the Digimon Tamer and his partner Agumon go when they want to be alone."

* * *

"You're sure your mom won't be mad at us for sneaking off?" Kari asked TK nervously as they boarded the train for Colorado. He smiled calmly and answered, "Oh, she's definitely going to be pissed. We're basically running off for a few days. She's going to be livid."

Gatomon sighed, "It was nice knowing you, TK. I call dibs on your hat. It looks like it'd make a great bed."

"Very funny," TK laughed, unaware of the worried look his partner was giving them. Mimi didn't join them as she was already in trouble for going on one across the world excursion. She did, however, plan on convincing TK's mom that he would be crashing at her place for the time being. This would at least buy them some time before his mom noticed they were missing.

* * *

The digidestined arrived in the darkened halls of an old stone castle that seemed on the verge of collapsing under its own weight. The only sound was the echo of their footsteps haunting them in this dreary place. Unable to bare the silence and depressing air, Yolei asked, "How can anyone live in a place like this?"

"This is the Hollow Bastion. It used to be the capital city of the Ancients back when they were still around. Or something like that," Ken answered quietly, "This place was their home, the place from where they watched over the different worlds below."

"So this is like those temples where we found Armadillomon and Hawkmon?" Yolei asked curiously. Ken nodded and continued, "Yes, well sort of. There are a lot of questions left about them but I was never too interested in finding answers. The more time I spent around The Digimon Tamer and Agumon, the more realized it was better to leave some things alone. Which is why I said not to touch anything."

"Why not? This place looks harmless to me," Davis said as he knocked on the stone wall. As soon as he did, they saw the entire hallway come to life with light and Ken snapped, "I told you not to touch anything!"

"What'sh the big deal? It wash jusht lightsh," Veemon said in his partner's defense. Wormmon added, "This time it was lights. If you're not careful, you could accidentally open a portal to another world and get trapped there. Or activate the defense system that shoots death lasers."

"Right, I forgot they had that," Davis took his hand off the wall nervously, trying to keep his knees from shaking. Ken rolled his eyes, "Now try not to touch anything else until we get to our destination."

"What are we doin' here, anyway?" Armadillomon asked. Ken explained, "What we're here for is The Network - a system of gates to other worlds that Agumon and Tamer set up years ago."

"They have that?" Cody asked, "And how do you know about this?"

"Because the first time they tried to make a gate, they put it in my bedroom," Ken answered annoyedly, "I spent weeks in the Digital World trying to get answers and get home. And when I did, it was like nothing happened - I returned to the exact moment I left."

"Really? How come we always go back and hours pass?" Hawkmon asked curiously, which Ken ignored. He guided them through the dark halls and into a large circular room filled with monitors. Each screen held a different image - some of cities, others of forests, deserts, oceans, darkness, blinding light, fires, fog, people, animals, and things that couldn't be described with words. Ken gestured around, "This is The Network. They were working on setting it up years ago when I first met them. It doesn't look like they ever finished."

"And each of these is a gate?" Cody asked, viewing the monitors with extreme alarm, "You can see everything from here. This has to be an extreme invasion of privacy. Why would anyone do this?"

"Why do Agumon and The Tamer do anything?" Ken asked incredulously. Their digimon partners were excitedly viewing the monitors to peek at the various worlds beyond. Wormmon urged them not to get too close, other wise they risked getting pulled in. Ken asked himself, "I wonder where they are anyway?"

"Oh...well, Tamer is hiding out in our school for some reason," Yolei explained nonchalantly, "Or we think it's Tamer. We're still not sure. And no one has seen Agumon since he ran off after ShogunGekomon Village."

"Tamer's at your school!?" Ken looked at them in wide eyed surprise, amazed at the audacity and the opportunity. Then he shook his head as he recalled he didn't want anything to do with this, "No, no, I don't care. I'm not getting involved in this anymore."

"I think we can handle it from here," Yolei said thankfully, placing a hand on Ken's shoulder, "We just have to find a gate that's going to Colorado in America!"

"Good. Now leave me alone and don't bother me again," Ken said, pulling away from her hand and backing away to his partner. Wormmon climbed onto his shoulder, and the pair looked back just in time to see the digidestined huddle around a single gate. They discussed whether this was the right place until they noted that it looked like America. With their digivices out, the pair vanished in a flash of light. Wormmon looked on sadly and asked, "Ken, are you sure you don't want to go with them?"

"Yeah, I'm sure Wormmon," Ken nodded, "They'll be better off with out me anyway."

Wormmon looked unconvinced but didn't press the matter, "Still, it felt good to help again."

"It did. Didn't it?" Ken nodded in agreement. A moment of silence followed before Wormmon posed another question, "You know we did leave a lot of control spires around the Digital World. Maybe we should think to clean up after ourselves a little?"

"Maybe Wormmon," Ken smiled sheepishly, "But tonight I want to just go home and lie down."

* * *

It was night now and the plains outside the train window were swathed in darkness. Gatomon dozed quietly on Kari's lap, where she sat across from TK and Patamon. The gentle rocking motions of the train helped Patamon drift off to sleep in his arms, and the rest of the car was quiet as well. TK felt like he was the only one awake and his mind didn't seem to want him to sleep. There were too many questions running around his mind. Who was that Willis kid from earlier, why did he have a digimon, why was another digimon after them, and what was in Colorado? There were too many questions and not enough answers. He did know that he wanted to deck Tamer for continuously keeping them in the dark, and how useful Wizardmon's warning was. Even more pressing was the reminder that Myotismon was coming back and they didn't know how they were expected to stop it.

As he felt the grip of sleep finally begin to pull him under, the lights on the train went out and they felt the brakes trigger. A sudden jolt had him flying forward straight onto Kari and Gatomon. Patamon fell out of his lap and onto the ground with a grunt. Kari jolted awake too, and the two made eye contact during that brief moment they were mere inches from each other's faces. However, Gatomon didn't appreciate TK suddenly landing on her and responded by punching TK away, right in a very painful part of his body.

He grunted and flew off the two girls, groaning in pain on the floor, "Why me?"

"Let sleeping cats lie, TK," Gatomon hissed angrily. Kari looked around the train car in disbelief, "What happened? Where is everyone?"

"This is just like last time," Patamon said, climbing off the floor onto the chair, "Back in New York. You don't think it's that digimon again, do you?"

"I think it might be," Gatomon said in agreement, crawling towards the window and pointing outside, "Especially since I can see it standing over there. It wasn't just waiting out there was it?"

They gathered at the window to see the large Wendigomon staring at them from the middle of an open field. Its dead eyed stare unsettled them as it pointed at them, mouthing some unseen warning. Although it was so far away and outside, they could hear its voice as if it was inside with them, "Don't interfere. Stay away."

"I think it wants us to back off," Patamon commented before shouting back, "We're not ignoring someone in need you big jerk! We'll help them and stop you!"

Wendigomon grumbled under its breath and vanished before their eyes. As quickly as the train jolted to a stop, it started moving again and had the digidestined falling over again. This time, it was Kari's turn to fall on TK only Gatomon managed to leap out of the way before she was trapped. The two kids quickly pulled themselves away - more self conscious of each other than they had been previously. The occupants had reappeared as well, and a few had stirred to the sound of the commotion the two were making. The four quietly returned to their seats, pretending nothing had happened and wondering to themselves what kind of digimon they were going up against. The last time a digimon had been able to knock out electronics, it was Diaboromon rampaging on the internet. But this digimon wasn't on the internet and it wasn't just affecting electronics - it was making people disappear and, somehow, stopping time. This digimon wasn't an ordinary digimon and it seemed like they were genuinely over their heads on this one.

* * *

The three digidestined and their digimon partners landed in what looked like a large gas station and convenience store mixed together. They groaned at their messed up arrival, landing in a pile by what looked like a display of sunglasses. Davis groaned, "How do we keep ending up in a dog pile!?"

"Does anyone know where we landed?" Yolei asked, looking up in surprise, "More importantly, can anyone read these stupid signs?"

"Um guys, I think we're making a scene," Cody pointed out the people who were staring at them with wide eyes. Davis smiled stupidly, "They're just checking out how awesome we are."

"Or they're shocked," Cody stated flatly, looking around them to see where they came out of and seeing a television displaying static, "I'd be too if I saw a bunch of kids come out of the television. We should probably go."

The people who stared at them were now whispering to each other and the clerk was coming towards them with a rifle in his hand. The kids panicked and scrambled outside while the clerk continued shouting at them, their partners peeking behind them and asking, "What's that thing he's holding?"

"It's a gun! This is America!" Yolei panicked, "Let's get out of here before they shoot us!"

They ran out of the gas station and into a lot full of semi trucks parked in rows with many of them still running. It was daylight out, a stark contrast to the night time it had been in Japan. Behind them, they heard the clerk giving chase and shouting at them. It was odd that he hadn't started shooting already, but it was hard to tell what he was saying anyway. In their panic, they rounded a corner to see blonde haired boy in a baseball shirt talking to one of the truck drivers. They saw the digidestined running towards them with raised eyebrows, and they returned with surprise when they saw the large doll in his arms with big floppy wars. Even the doll seemed shocked by this turn of events, its jaw falling open and eyes blinking in disbelief before going still again. Both the boy and the doll must've noticed their digimon as well, however the center of their attention was Davis whom the boy pointed at, "Tamer!?"

"Who? What did he say?" Davis asked, unsure if he'd heard the boy right. Cody complained, "We really should have thought this through - we don't speak English!"

"Oh, you guys are Japanese," the boy commented just as the clerk came around the corner with his gun. The driver became incensed at the sight and shouted something at the clerk, going forward to confront the gun wielding nut while they hid behind him. Davis sighed, "Man, we can't catch a break."

"He spoke Japanese," Yolei pointed out, "How do you know Japanese?"

"Me? Oh, I used to date a girl who was Japanese. I picked some up from her," the boy answered with a smile, "She was cute and I liked her. Although you're pretty cute too."

"Keep it your pants, dude," Davis grumbled, ignoring Yolei's snide remark, "Don't be jealous Davis. Besides, you're always trying to hit on Kari."

The boy chuckled at their behavior before asking, "What's up with you guys though? Why's that guy chasing you with a gun?"

"It's a long story and you wouldn't believe us if we told you," Cody stated quietly, as the two adults continued to argue. Davis grumbled, "I know a place he can put his gun."

"Could you help us out?" Yolei asked sheepishly, "We have no idea what he's saying."

"He's saying you guys are aliens that came out of a TV in the gas station. He's saying something about a reward if he catches you," the boy answered with a smile on his face, "Is that the thing I wouldn't believe if you told me?"

"Can we talk about this after we get him to stop waving his gun around?" Cody stated just as the clerk start pointing his gun at the driver, "That guy looks ready to shoot."

"Yeah, he does. Hang on. I have an idea," the boy said before he ran out and started accusing the man of something loudly. An argument broke out that ended only when the truck driver drew a pistol of his own and told the clerk something that made him flinch. The clerk grumbled angrily before stepping away with his gun tucked under his arm. Once the clerk was gone, the driver put his own gun away and started talking to the blonde boy until they seemed to come to an agreement. The boy returned to them with his doll and explained, "He said you guys better get out of here before the cops show up. You're welcome to hitch a ride with us."

"Oh, awesome!" Davis punched the air excitedly before asking, "Where are you heading? We're going to Colorado."

"What a coincidence, same here. Come on. We can talk more in the back," the boy motioned for them to follow and unlocked the trailer of the semi beside them. He ushered them inside and nodded to the driver thankfully before he locked them in. It was dark, with just enough light filtering in for them to see each other's vague outline. As soon as they were settled, the boy punched Davis as hard as he could in the face. Davis yelped in pain and fell over backwards while his partner leapt into action to protect him, "Hey! What's the big idea!"

"He called me cute and punched Davis in the face. I like him," Yolei said with a keen smile, "Just please don't turn out like the Emperor."

The boy didn't hear a word she said and instead pointed at Davis warningly, "That's for what happened to Wendigomon, Tamer! Now help me fix her!"

Davis groaned from the floor, "Why does everyone keep calling me Tamer when we first meet? I am not Tamer! Ow!"

"Maybe stop wearing the goggles and put on some different colored clothes every once in a while," Cody suggested dryly, stepping between the two boys and trying to cool things between them, "I think we got off on the wrong foot. I'm Cody Hida, and this is my partner Upamon. What's your name?"

"I'm Terriermon and this is my partner Willis," answered the digimon in the boy's hands, "Don't mind him. He just needs to relax a little. Moumantai."

"I'm Yolei and this is Poromon," Yolei nodded happily, while raising up her partner. Poromon sighed and asked not to be held up that way, but Yolei was too star struck by Willis to care. Davis collected himself and grumbled, "And I'm Davis. And this is DemiVeemon."

"So...You're not Tamer?" Willis asked sheepishly. Davis nodded, massaging his nose, "No! That's Kari's brother."

"Brother? Kari? What?" Willis repeated stupidly, before he realized what he'd done and offered him a hand, "Oh crap. Sorry about that. Here let me help you up."

"Yeah, you better be," Davis grumbled as he took the help. He groaned again and asked, "So what's the big deal? How do you know Tamer? Wait, does that mean you know Agumon?"

"Yes. They showed up at my parent's summer home years ago. They're the reason we're in the middle of this mess," Willis answered bitterly, going to the corner and sitting down. They joined him there, trying to get comfortable as the truck started rolling along. Terriermon climbed on to his partner's head and repeated, "Moumantai."

"You keep saying that. What does it mean?" Willis grumbled. Cody answered, "It's Cantonese and means 'relax' or 'take it easy'. Although that does make me wonder _where_ he learned it."

"Willis old girlfriend really liked to teach me things," Terriermon grinned mischievously. Willis ignored the digimon in his arms and went on, "He and Agumon were fighting a squid or something in my bedroom. It didn't even make sense then so don't ask me. Any way, they killed it and left two digieggs in my house. One became Terriermon and the other...don't worry about it."

"So, are you the kid that TK and Kari were talking to us about?" Cody asked inquisitively, already sensing that answer he was about to get. Willis turned his head to the side before realizing, "Who? Are you talking about the cute girl from New York? And that blonde kid with the bucket hat?"

"Yeah, that's them," Upamon nodded. Yolei corrected them both, "It's a sun hat. And it does look good on him."

Cody was too busy thinking about other parts of Willis' story to care, "I don't get it though. When we met our digimon, it was to save the Digital World. So how come you were by yourself?"

"Maybe it had to do with Tamer?" Davis put his hands behind his head, "I mean, he showed up and Willis had two partners. When I met him, the dude introduced me to Veemon."

"He did? I don't remember that," DemiVeemon turned his head to the site. Davis nodded and went on, "Yeah, then he pulled a Houdini and disappeared. Oh…crap, I wasn't supposed to bring that up."

He realized his mistake too late to correct it and was at the mercy of Yolei and Cody, "How come you never brought this up!?"

"Dude asked me to keep it a secret," Davis threw up his hands defensively, "Said something about needing his partner. And then I completely forgot about it. I don't what else you want me to say. It was forever ago!"

"We've only been digidestined for a few weeks!" Yolei complained, becoming confrontational with Davis, "Think goggle head! What did he say?"

"Calm down Yolei! There's no need to be violent," Poromon flew between his partner and Davis. Willis grew nervous at how quickly they turned on each other while Cody commented, "You know Kari's going to be so mad at you for not telling anyone sooner, right?"

"I don't need that on me right now," Davis frowned, throwing his hands up in frustration, "Can we talk about this later? We're supposed to be here to help this kid! So, what's going on? Kari said you were in trouble."

"Forget about it," Willis waved them off, "You guys will only get yourselves hurt, killed, or worse."

"What's worse than being killed?" Upamon asked nervously. Terriermon's cheery answer unsettled them, especially with his big smile, "Nobody knows. Everyone it happens to just disappears, never to be seen again."

"Knock it off Terriermon, stop trying to scare them," Willis scolded his partner. Terriermon chuckled, "I'm just having fun. Besides, don't we want them to leave us alone?"

"I do, but there's no reason to freak them out," Willis frowned, looking at the digidestined half apologetically, "He's right though. It's better if you guys just stay out of it. It doesn't concern you."

"We just traveled halfway across the world, through another world I'd like to add, and almost got shot to try and help," Cody pointed out to Willis in an uncharacteristic display of boldness until he cooled down enough to calmly say, "We're not leaving. At least not before we meet up with the others."

"So what's this evil digimon who's chasing you?" Upamon bounced excitedly, "The others didn't tell us anything."

Willis frowned briefly but smiled at them, "Suit yourselves. Her name is Wendigomon. We don't know why she's chasing us or what for. But we do know that she wants us to go back to Colorado. We've been running away from her for a long time but I think it's time to stop running away. We're going to find out what Wendigomon wants from us so badly."

Davis produced his D-Terminal from his pocket, "Then I guess we're going with you. I'm going to message Kari, let her know we found you."

"You do that. Having one cute girl around is nice," Willis beamed in Yolei's direction when he said that, making her blush, "Having two will be even better."

Yolei's blush turned into a hard slap across his cheek, so loud that everyone recoiled in shock at the sound, "Pervert!"

"Ow!" Willis whimpered as he rubbed the sore spot on his face.

* * *

After some unknown amount of time passed, the truck came to a stop and the driver let them out of the back. They emerged on a side of the highway that split off down a dirt road out in the middle of a forest. The driver ushered them all out and he said something none of them could understand. Willis said something back and waved as the driver back into his truck. The digidestined only realized what was going on after his truck took off again and Davis ran after it, "Hey! What are you doing? We're still here!"

"He wasn't going to take us all the way back to my parent's summer home, Davis," Willis pointed out, "He was just giving us a ride. We're actually not far from there. It's about another couple miles up the road."

"Dude, were not walking that!" Davis complained, stamping his foot. Willis laughed and adjusted his bag onto his back, "Don't worry. We're not walking the whole way. There's a gas station half a mile from here with a payphone. We'll just call for a ride."

"Okay, and do we have money for that ride?" Cody asked incredulously, "I'd hate to say we have no way to pay. I don't want another gun pointed at us."

"For what it's worth, not all Americans are gun crazy. Some people know how to have a little hospitality," Willis stated with a smile, "Most of us don't think like that at all."

"Hooray! Adventure!" DemiVeemon said excitedly, running ahead of the others. Yolei called out after him, "Hey! Slow down! You don't even know where to go!"

"That just makes it more fun, y'know? Moumantai!" Terriermon laughed, falling to all fours and running after DemiVeemon, "Wait for me!"

"Me too!" Upamon bounced after them, "Wait for me! I want adventure too!"

"Don't worry Yolei. I won't abandon you," Poromon assured her partner. The digidestined hurried after their partners, catching up to them just as they rounded a corner and found a lone gas station sitting on the side of the road as Willis told them. He asked them to wait outside while he went in to talk to the attendant and returned a few minutes later with a big grin on his face, "Okay, I got us a ride and a pizza. It'll be here in ten minutes or it'll be free."

While they waited, Terriermon entertained the younger digimon by propping himself up on his ears and using them like legs to move around. The digimon oohed in amazement and Willis told his partner to stop showing off, only to be answered by whines from the younger digimon about how boring he was and how they wanted to keep playing. Davis tried to entertain them with jokes, but found that their partners were too energetic to sit still long enough and pay attention. Either that, or his jokes were just too boring for them.

After some time, a pickup truck pulled up along side them with a pizza sign hanging off the top. The driver rolled down his window to let out a blast of music and shouted something at them. Willis waved to the driver and spoke with him briefly before motioning to the others, "Alright, climb on! You first, beautiful."

He offered a hand to Yolei and helped her onto the back while she blushed, "Oh...thanks."

"I think Willis is better with girls than you are Davis," DemiVeemon pointed out to his partner's dismay. Willis helped out Cody next because he was too short to climb on before turning to Davis, "Need a hand?"

"Nah, I got it dude," Davis scooped up his partner to climb on, "Why are we riding a pizza truck anyway?"

"I'm starving," Willis answered, "And are you really saying no to pizza?"

"Of course not dude, I'll take that pizza," Davis said excitedly. As he climbed onto the back, he noticed the forest had grown eerily quiet. The music had died, the wind had stopped, and the engine was no longer running, "Hey, what just happened?"

"What are you talking about?" Yolei asked, already taking a slice from the open box. The digimon complained, "No fair, Yolei! Save some for us!'

"Quiet you guys! Something's wrong," Cody urged their partners, raising a finger for quiet and listening intently to the silence around them. Davis looked into the cabin of the truck and stated, "Hey, where's the driver?"

"Oh crap," Willis gasped and stood up, "Everyone get off the truck!"

"What?"

"We need to get off the truck!" Willis said just as they felt the flatbed tip and they slid off the back. Yolei made a futile grab at the pizza box while their partners rolled like balls and bounced on the ground in agony. Davis was the first to his feet and beheld a large brown monstrosity wearing a floppy eared hat holding the pickup over its head. With a growl, it threw it aside at a tree where it crumpled like paper. Davis's shoulders sank, "Let me guess. That's Wendigomon."

"No kidding," Willis said before running up to it, "Wendigomon! Stop this! Stop fighting us! We're your friends!"

"Go back," Wendigomon answered with a deep gravelly voice, "Go back."

"We are going back!" Willis replied, "This is what you wanted, right?"

"Go back," Wendigomon said once again, stomping towards Willis angrily, "To the past."

Willis stood there, staring Wendigomon down despite the fact it was raising its hand over his head to strike him. Terriermon saw and raced to get him out of the way, knowing he'd never close the gap in time, "Willis, look out!"

Willis realized what was happening too late to get out of the way and raised his arms to protect himself. Fortunately, Davis had already seen what was about to happen and ran into a leap at the last second to tackle Willis out of the way, "I got you!"

They both rolled along the ground and Davis pointed out, "What's wrong with you!? Are you crazy! That thing is going to kill you!"

"Wendigomon! Stop!" Willis pleaded with the large digimon, completely ignoring Davis' warnings. The digimon didn't care for what he had to say and stomped towards them both. Davis tried to pull Willis back but the boy refused to move. Terriermon grunted and rushed ahead to fight, "I'll take care of her!"

"I'm not sitting back either. Davis?" DemiVeemon looked at his partner excitedly. Davis nodded and raised up his digivice, "Go for it buddy!"

"DemiVeemon! Digivolve to! Veemon!"

Veemon raced towards Wendigomon with Terriermon and the two digimon flew head first at the larger champion, slamming into it full force, "Vee-Headbutt!"

The two digimon hit hard enough to make Wendigomon take a step back, but failed to hurt her. She swatted them aside so that they flew, Terriermon grabbing onto Veemon with his feet and spreading out his ears like large wings to help glide them down. Veemon laughed, "Ha! Now we can fight him from the air!"

Unfortunately, they were only a few feet off the ground and Wendigomon was within punching range. With a swift punch, the digimon struck the two digimon out of the air and towards a nearby billboard where they indented impressions of themselves on it. Davis panicked, "Veemon! No!"

"We need to get in there too, Yolei," Poromon said to his partner. Yolei looked at Cody who was already nodding in agreement but stated, "But let's not run in like Veemon did. Upamon, we're turning you into Digmon!"

"Then I'll bring out Shurimon!" Yolei shouted excitedly, bringing out her digivice with Cody together. With a flash of light their partner's digivolved to their higher forms.

"Upamon! Digivolve to! Armadillomon!"

"Poromon! Digivolve to! Hawkmon!"

"Armadillomon! Armor Digivolve to! Digmon, the Drill of Knowledge!"

"Hawkmon! Armor Digivolve to! Shurimon, the Samurai or Sincerity!"

The two armor champions ran straight at Wendigomon. Digmon drilled straight into the ground and disappeared while Shurimon lunged in from above with his shuriken arms, "How about you pick on someone your own size. Double star!"

Both shuriken struck out, only to be stopped by Wendigomon grabbing them out of the air, "No."

"What?" Shurimon gasped as he was pulled in close to meet Wendigomon face to face. The dead eyed stare unsettled the champion but he tried to keep the mood light, "See, I meant pick on someone who's taller than me."

"Or we cut you down to size!" Digmon said as he burst out of the ground beneath Wendigomon's feet, trying to bury this monster where she stood. Wendigomon responded by slamming Shurimon straight into Digmon's face, "Okay!"

"OW! OW! OW!" Shurimon gasped with each strike while Digmon slowly disappeared back into the ground, turning the two champions into an odd display of whack-a-mole. Davis looked on from his partner's side and grumbled, "These digimon just keep getting stronger. How do we fight him?"

"It's not a him, it's a her!" Willis corrected. His partner was already up on his feet and added, "We have to help, Willis. I need to fight her!"

"No, I won't let you!" Willis argued, "I don't want you guys to fight anymore! I don't want to hurt her!"

"Willis! Other people keep getting hurt because you don't want to hurt her! Look!" Terriermon pointed it out as Wendigomon continued to lay into the other digimon. Davis and Veemon were already running back in with Veemon armor digivolving into Flamedramon. The new champion tried to help, only to find himself on the receiving end of Shurimon's head. Shurimon's head spun and he saw stars while Flamedramon flew back a considerable distance. Terriermon grumbled, "If you don't let met do something, Willis. They'll wind up like all the others."

"I...I just can't Terriermon," Willis pleaded, "Wendigomon...no, Kokomon is still in there somewhere."

Terriermon grunted and ran in, "Fine, if you won't do anything, then I will!"

"Terriermon!" Willis gasped, reaching for his partner but stopping as he saw Digmon whip past him and crash into a tree. Cody ran to his partner's side and slid to stop in time to watch the digimon return to Upamon. Cody shook his partner, "Upamon! Upamon! Are you okay!"

"Did anyone get the number of that truck?" Upamon asked with spinning head.

Willis closed his eyes, wishing he didn't have to do what needed to be done. There was no other way to stop his old partner from hurting others though. Not like the kids in New York, or any one else before them. He opened his eyes and called out to his partner, "Stop her, Terriermon!"

He felt an energy well up inside of him, so strong that it felt like it would explode in his chest. The digivice he'd been given years ago by Tamer burst with light like the digivices of the others, wrapping around Terriermon as he leapt into the air, "Terriermon! Digivolve to! Gargomon!"

What came out of the other side of the digivolution resembled a larger Terriermon wearing a mask on his head and bandoliers around his chest. His arms were replaced by gatling gun cannons that he aimed with impunity. But the most shocking thing for Willis was perhaps the oddest addition to the digivolution, "He has pants now?"

"Gargo Pellets!" Gargomon jumped up into the air and fired the gatling guns on his arms. Despite his larger size, he was still nimble and easily peppered Wendigomon with a hail of bullets. Wendigomon retreated away from her attacker, growling in anger and repeating her warning, "Go back. Go back."

"What's the matter!? I'm just getting warmed up!" Gargomon shouted angrily. Wendigomon waved her hand through the air and froze Gargomon and the remaining champion digimon in place. With another wave, the digimon regressed to their rookie forms and collapsed to the ground - Veemon, Hawkmon, and Terriermon. Wendigomon gave one final message before disappearing, "Don't interfere!"

"What? But you said to go back!" Willis called after the fading digimon, "What do you mean turn back! Wendigomon! Wendigomon!"

Wendigomon was gone now, leaving nothing behind in her wake. In an instant, the forest came back to life and the engine of the pickup roared. It was back on the street where it had been moments before and the driver stuck his head out the window to ask something. Willis spoke back to him and calmly said, "Let's get back on the truck."

"The truck's back?" Cody asked, "But Wendigomon threw it."

"Washn't it broken? How'sh it fixed?" Veemon pointed out. Willis motioned for them to climb back on but Davis was mad and had questions, "Alright, what's going on?"


	25. Willis' Resolve

The train rolled silently into the bustling station in Denver, Colorado. Although it was summer, the air was cold and they could see their breaths in the air against the light of the setting sun. No sooner had Kari stepped off the station, did her D-Terminal beep. She checked it to find a new message, "Davis just messaged us. He says they're in Colorado and they met the kid from New York. He's sending us the address and wants us to meet them there."

"That was fast," TK peeked over her shoulder as he stepped off the train. Patamon and Gatomon both peered over her shoulder and wondered aloud, "Wait. How's they get to America so fast? It took us a whole day!"

"I was just about to ask them that," Kari answered as she typed back into her D-Terminal. No sooner after she sent her message, another message came back from Yolei. Kari read aloud, "It's from Yolei. She says they got here through a gate in...the Bastion? What's that? They got help from Ken."

"Ken?" Patamon repeated quietly, "Oh! You mean the Emperor!"

"That's not his name Patamon, don't call him that," TK chastised his partner, only to be met by a dead stare from his partner, "But you're the one who punched him on the ship."

"That's not what we're talking about," TK said, trying to keep the conversation on focus and glad that the cold bud his embarrassed face, "Besides we don't even know where…oh, maps!"

TK noticed a booth full of maps for people to take and grabbed one before anyone noticed, "Okay. First we have to figure out where we are."

Patamon frowned, "What does that matter if we don't know where we're going?"

"We could always call a cab," Gatomon suggested, "The way the Americans do, with a whistle."

She pursed her lips and blew out a loud whistle that caught the attention of everyone in the train station, until Kari covered her mouth. Gatomon struggled but this didn't stop a crowd from forming, asking excited questions about Kari and her cat with the ability to whistle. Kari panicked until TK took her hand and ran out, "Let's get out of here!"

They hurried outside, onto the street before the crowd could get any bigger and continued into an alley. Once they were sure they were safe, TK sighed, "Well, that could've gone better."

"Gatomon. Cats don't talk in this world," Kari reminded her partner, only to be retorted with, "Maybe because nobody talks to them. They can be quite the conversationalists."

"Well, now how are we supposed to get there?" TK asked with a sigh. Patamon looked up at his partner, "It's almost dark. We can digivolve and just fly there. I was getting tired of armor digivolution anyway."

Gatomon agreed with a nod and they made their way to a bench to examine the map, trying to figure out where they were and how to get where they were going. Once the last lights of the sun vanished from the sky, they ran into an alley so their partners could digivolve - Angemon and Angewomon. The two digimon scooped up their partners and took to the sky, unaware of the spectacle they'd made of themselves.

* * *

Nancy returned to her hotel room late at night and set her bag down on the bed, thoughts filled only with what she'd learned that day. Despite all her efforts, she hadn't been able to track down the correspondent. No one had seen him in some time and no one had been able to get a hold of him either. The guy had simply vanished. Even a trip to his apartment in the seedy side of Brooklyn turned up nothing save for a messy lifestyle and folders full of notes.

One room in particular used one wall to pin a series of photos, newspaper clippings, headlines, post-it notes, and scribblings all connected to each other by lengths of red string. It seemed whatever story he was working on had driven him over the edge or gotten him into some kind of trouble.

Many of the articles referred to a Non-Government Organization, disappearances of people across the United States, Bigfoot sightings, politicians caught up in international scandals, and trade agreements. The post-it notes kept referring to something called Burnt Leaf, the Odaiba Incident, military incidents in the middle east, and more trade deals between America and Japan. In the center of the entire web was a single hand written scrawl: _'What is Project Hypnos?'_. It seemed her colleague had gotten into trouble with someone or something in his pursuit of the answer to this question.

A quick review of all his notes revealed someone who had started on a story that was innocuous enough. A few people had been disappearing across the country, and witnesses always said they had raved about being chased by a giant monster before vanishing. From there, it seemed the correspondent had encountered some people who were working the disappearances as well but always changed their back stories from case to case. He'd tried to contact them to share what they'd learned but they always rebuffed his attempts. And then it just descended into madness - conspiracy theories, government cover ups, aliens. As much as she wanted to call him crazy, she knew better than to think that.

As she settled in for the night, she turned on to the television and listened to the news while closing her eyes and trying to relax, "And our top story tonight, angels sighted in Denver, Colorado. We now have footage from a witness and we'll be playing it for you now."

Any plans to relax vanished as Nancy jolted up to look at the screen, hoping for another elaborate hoax but quietly fearing her suspicions were true. The newscaster cut to another screen, a group of people looking up and pointing the sky. Whoever was holding the camera panned up to see two angels fly past overhead. One she recognized immediately as the partner of her son - Angelmon or something like that. Angered she picked up the phone to make a call, ignorant of the newscaster explaining the amateur footage. The phone rang several times before Mimi's voice answered on the other side, "Hello."

"Mimi, what's TK doing!?" Nancy asked angrily. Mimi apologized sheepishly, "Oh, he went to bed."

"Don't lie to me Mimi. I saw the news. Why is he in Colorado!?" Nancy snapped angrily. She could hear Mimi hesitating on the other side but she eventually explained, "Colorado? He's not in Colorado!"

"Really? Then would you mind waking him up so I can talk to him?" she pressed, prepared to take this as far as he had to. Thankfully, Mimi relented, "I...look, I'm sorry. He and Kari went after a rogue digimon that attacked us earlier."

"Dammit!" Nancy slammed her phone on the receiver. She had no idea what she expected to happen but it should've been this. This was exactly the kind of thing she knew he would pull, but she brought him anyway. She looked at the time and groaned that she wouldn't be able to go after them now. They were too far ahead of her. The only thing she could do was wait for them to come back. Then she realized she was still mad about having to be here anyway, and TK's escapade just gave her an opportunity to get revenge in her own way - after all, how could they say no to the expense of having her go all the way to Colorado to get her son back?

* * *

Willis' family's summer home was on an isolated patch of land about a mile away from the nearest neighbor and was surrounded by overgrown vegetation all around it. Willis paid the driver for his trouble and thanked him as they departed. Once the driver was out of sight, their digimon hopped out of their arms to go playing through the field. Cody looked over the house and commented, "It looks a little run down."

"My family hasn't come up here in years," Willis commented, "So it might not be the cleanest, but it's where Wendigomon keeps telling us to go. It's where we met each other years ago."

"Why do you think she wanted us to come here?" Yolei asked, keeping at least one eye on their digimon as they ran through the grass and screaming in joy. Willis shrugged, "If I knew why Wendigomon was doing any of this, I would've put a stop to it a long time ago. The Digimon Tamer didn't tell us anything. Just that this digivice would help us."

"Believe me, we know that story. He did the same to the others," Davis stated more grumpily than he intended, "What we want to know is your story."

Willis sighed and grumbled, "What are you getting mad at me for? You guys are the ones who wanted to help?"

"Don't mind Davish, he'sh jusht…fire headed? Ish that right?" Veemon looked at Armadillomon for confirmation and the little shook his head, "Naw, he's a heat head."

"Hot head," Cody said to his partner, while Davis groaned in frustration, "And he's just mad because Kari's not here yet."

That last one had Davis grunting while Veemon giggled. Terriermon added, "That would explain why you become Flamedramon."

"Anyway, Wendigomon used to be Kokomon...Terriermon's twin. The two showed up together a long time ago when The Digimon Tamer and Agumon invaded my bedroom," Willis explained, "Then they had to leave, but they left Kokomon and Terriermon with me. I didn't see them again until about a month later, when he showed up and gave me this digivice. He gave some really vague warning about the thing he fought not being dead. Then he said I would need the digivice. After that, he left again. That was when Kokomon started acting weird. It was like she was always anxious - scared that something bad would happen."

Willis paused, his voice cracking as he spoke, "Then she started doing weird things, I'd catch her staring into space, and she always talked about wanting to die. Then...she became this. I didn't know what was going on at first. Then one day, she went missing and I spent a lot of time looking for her. The next time I saw her, she was this. Terriermon knew she was different and the two fought right away. I did my best to stop it, but eventually some friends found out and became involved. Then Wendigomon made them disappear. I don't know where to, but I haven't seen them ever since. I knew the one thing I could do was to protect the people I cared about was run. So I did. We both did. And it's been just us ever since, running from Wendigomon but it's always been the same. She shows up, attacks us, and anyone who tries to help just...disappears. It's been a nightmare."

"Sounds rough," Davis added, trying to sound apologetic but only managing to seem disinterested. Yolei put a hand to her chin and thought, "That would explain why you weren't a part of our team. But this happened years ago for you? So you've been dealing with this on your own for years!"

"It's not all bad. Terriermon's been good company," Willis beamed at his partner proudly. From some distance away, amidst the other playful digimon, Terriermon took this chance to shout back, "Plus, Willis got to be around a bunch of cute girls!"

Willis had to hide his face behind his hand to cover how red it became, but everyone noticed. Yolei especially became embarrassed at the thought that she might've been just another girl in a long list of girls Willis had smooth talked to. She shook her head, and Willis mumbled something about his partner being a pain.

"How can he hear us when he's all the way over there?" Davis grunted in disbelief. Terriermon joked, "These big ears are for more than just flopping around!"

Davis scowled while Willis remained silent, looking at his partner sheepishly and with a far away gaze. Cody recognized the look, "What's wrong, Willis?"

He mumbled something quietly in english and brushed his eyes with his sleeve, "It's nothing."

"Nuh-uh," Davis warned with a waved finger, "You're not getting out of this one. Now isn't the time to stop telling us stuff! IF you know something that'll help, we need to know it. So what's up?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Willis said again, trying to leave until Davis ran in front of him to stop his exit. It was only then that Davis noticed the boy appeared to be crying and asked, "Dude, what's wrong?"

"It's this. It's all of this," Willis gestured around them, "Don't you get it? There's only one way this ends! The only way to stop any of this was to kill Wendigomon. I can't do that! Not to my friend! That's why I ran! I wanted to find another way, and I couldn't! Terriermon knew it would end this way, but I didn't want to believe it. I wanted to believe so bad that there was another way. Now, we're back where it all started and I don't have anything to show for running for so long! Wendigomon is going to die!"

Davis looked down at the miserable boy, as did Yolei and Cody. It was difficult enough when they saw Ken like this not too long ago. To see it happen to someone else was just wrong. Davis tried to put a hand on the kid to comfort him, "Hey, look...sorry for..."

"No you're not!" Willis argued back, slapping Davis' hand away angrily, "How could you possibly know what it's like to see your friend hurting others? And knowing the only thing you can do to stop it is to hurt them!? What makes you think you could ever understand what that's like?"

Davis looked over at Veemon hopping along and replied, "I don't know what it's like, but that doesn't mean I don't get it. I mean...if I ever had to hurt Veemon like that. I don't think I'd be able to. And I don't think he could hurt me either. But that doesn't mean you have to do this alone."

"No. You don't get it. It has to be me! Who else will do it?" Willis growled at Davis, looking back in surprise to see Davis' misty eyes. Willis recoiled on seeing that expression as it was the one reaction he didn't think he'd get. Terriermon stopped playing with the other digimon then, walking up to him and tugging at his pant leg, "I will. She's my sister, Willis. If any one should do it, it should be me."

"What? No! You're not going to do it, Terriermon," Willis snapped at his partner, only to be met with Terriermon's frustration, "And you will? Willis, all we've ever done is run from Wendigomon. Are you really telling me you're finally going to stop running from what we have to do?"

Willis felt his mouth fall open, aware that the other digimon had stopped playing to stare at him now. He tried to keep his focus on his partner and reasoned, "There's no place left for us to run. I don't like it but when she shows herself again...we'll stop her."

Davis sniffled, "This is the saddest thing I've ever seen. Well, second saddest."

"What's with you?" Willis's amazement continued at the empathy he was getting from total strangers. Yolei whimpered from the side, "It's a little deja vu, yknow?"

"We know a kid who had to go through something like this not too long ago," Veemon said with more enthusiasm than he should have. Willis's mood soured at this revelation, "What happened to him?"

"It's a long story and we'll tell you later," Davis answered, only to be met with a Willis casually asking, "Why not just tell me now?"

"Because it'd depress us if we did. And it probably wouldn't help us out to be thinking about it before we play," Cody explained knowledgeably, "My grandpa always said it was better to do stuff with a clear mind. Dwelling on sad stuff probably won't help us do that."

The silence continued after that, an unspoken admission amongst the digidestined that this was too similar to what Ken went through not that long ago. Then the silence became eerie as they realized something they should have noticed earlier.

"So…uh, does anyone else notice that?" Armadillomon asked nervously. The digidestined each produced their digivices and they hurried to the house in fear. Veemon asked, "Why are we running? What'sh going on?"

"Don't you remember what happened last time? Hawkmon asked, flying above the group and scanning their surroundings, "It got really quiet and Wendigomon showed up!"

"Are we shure everyone jusht didn't go to shleep? I mean it ish night," Veemon reasoned, only to be shot down by Hawkmon, "Yes, everything went to sleep. At the same time. Makes perfect sense. Even the wind decided to take a nap."

"Well you don't have to be sho mean about it," Veemon mumbled. Armadillomon chuckled, "Ya'll are like Davis and Yolei. Always arguing!"

"They sure do take after their partners," Cody added, realizing that even their running didn't make noise in this near dead environment. They were almost to the porch when the hulking mass of Wendigomon appeared before them - stopping them in their tracks and growling at them. Her dead eyed stare unsettled them all until Terriermon called out, "We were wondering when you were going to show up! Now let's settle this!"

"Terriermon! Wait!" Willis said to his partner, too late to stop him from running ahead to fight Wendigomon head on. Terriermon opened his mouth and fired a barrage of bubbles on her, "Bunny Blast!"

The shots bounced off the large digimon and she continued to smile at them with dead eyes, before slamming her fist into the ground with enough force to knock them all on their feet. Willis ran to Terriermon's side and shouted, "We did what you asked, Wendigmon! We went back! We're here in Colorado! Now stop this!"

Wendigomon gestured at them and growled, "Go Back!"

"We've come back!" Willis shouted, "We can't go any further back!"

Wendigomon's growl grew in intensity and she looked past Willis to the digidestined, "Go back…go back!"

Willis stated matter of factly, "This is it! We're back where all this started! We can't go any further back. I wanted to help you, I really did. But...it's time to end this!"

"It's about time!" Terriermon said gleefully, rushing forward again with Willis holding out his digivice, "Do it Terriermon!"

"Terriermon! Digivolve to! Gargomon!"

Gargomon appeared and used his gatling gun of an arm to smash straight into Wendigomon's face. Bone cracked under metal and Wendigomon staggered backwards in pain, growling in pain as he was knocked around. The other digimon ran to join Gargomon's charge, their partners standing beside Willis with their own digivices. With a loud voice, Davis declared, "Don't forget about us! We're here to help too!"

"Veemon! Armor Digivolve to! Flamedramon, the Fire of Courage!"

"Hawkmon! Armor Digivolve to! Halsemon, the Wings of Love!"

"Armadillomon! Armor Digivolve to! Digmon, the Drill of Knowledge!"

Together the four digimon surrounded Wendigomon and laid into her - striking hard with everything they had to stop the digimon in her tracks. The strikes hit hard and she stumbled backwards with each blow but nothing wiped the dead eyed smile from her face. It was only when she straightened out with a gleeful smile that the digimon stopped in their tracks. Flamedramon grunted, "Anyone else get a bad feeling about-"

Wendigomon waved her hand and sent all four digimon partners into the air, forming a circle that suspended them there. With the same eerie smile, Wendigomon leapt skyward into the center of the ring and held out her arms, "GO!"

Yolei pointed upwards in shock, "What's Wendigomon doing?"

"I don't know. I've never seen Wendigomon do this," Willis answered, surprised to see his partner could fly and stupefied that she'd never done so before. It was a terrifying sight to see her rise into the air this way. She waved her hands in the air and began spinning the digimon in place, then revolving them around her. Once she finished, she began juggling them in the air with her hands, oblivious to the digimon groaning and complaining of nausea. Through out it all, she kept the same dead eyed smile on her face.

"She's just playing with them!" Cody pointed out. Davis stamped his foot on the ground, "What is she, five?"

"Five," Willis repeated quietly, "This all started when we were kids. What if…she's still mentally a kid too?"

Yolei bemoaned that possibility, "Oh great, five year old mind but a body like a truck. She's playing now, but could you imagine if she had a temper tantrum?"

Halsemon screamed, "WE DON'T NEED TO IMAGINE!"

"We have to get in there and help them!" Davis shouted impatiently, wanting to do more than stand on the sidelines. Willis pointed out the problem in this plan, "You mean up there, and how? We can't fly!"

Davis growled at his own helplessness, forced to watch as their partners were reduced to rag dolls.

"Celestial Arrow!"

"Hand of Fate!"

Two blasts of light came from the horizon and struck Wendigomon, stumbling the digimon and making it howl in pain for the first time. The four imprisoned digimon were free, falling to the ground with a soft landing. Wendigomon corrected herself in the air and looked at her attackers - two new digimon that were bathed in a light that seemed to come from behind them. A pair of angels, one male and one female who prepared to strike again. The female drew a pink arrow from a bow that grew from her hand hand while the male drew back his right fist so that a golden fire could take it.

"Celestial Arrow!"

"Hand of Fate!"

Two beams of light struck forth from them and hit Wendigomon again. The digimon growled in anger, angered at the onslaught as the two angels encircled her. The female angel spoke, "We're here everyone! Kari and TK are right behind us!"

"Kari?" Davis repeated excitedly, looking over his shoulder to see the two running up the dirt road to join them. Kari waved a hand excitedly and shouted, "We came as fast as we could!"

"What did we miss?" TK asked, looking up at Wendigomon, "And when did that thing learn to fly?"

"It's the cause of all of this, but nothing we've been doing hurts it," Cody explained to them. Yolei however was fixated on their partners, "Is that Patamon and Gatomon? They're beautiful! What are they?"

"Angemon and Angewomon. They're the normal digivolutions of our partners," Kari explained, "Like the digivolutions of the others."

Davis' shoulders slumped at the sight of the beautiful pair of angels in the sky. It was a sign, a hint from the universe itself. The two digimon with seemingly nothing in common paired together like this, as if to suggest something between their partners. It made his throat dry and his stomach churn just to think about it. The effect was lessened when Kari stopped beside him, "Are you guys okay?"

"We're fine," Cody answered, relieved to see help arrive and the safety of their partners. Above them, Angemon and Angewomon were busy trying to fight Wendigomon and at once threw out their fists to punch the creature together, but were stopped by her hands. Wendigomon's smile widened into a twist that terrified the two. Then they yelped in agony, slowly crumbling under Wendigomon's force as she continued to smile, "Wendigomon! Warp Digivolve to! Cherubimon Vice!"

Light was sapped from the two angels, regressing them back to Patamon and Gatomon. The light travelled into Wendigomon, twisting her body and elongating her limbs while also sinking her eyes into her head. The floppy eared hat became her long ears that arched upwards like a rabbit, and the fur around her body circled up to resemble a jester's crown.

When she was done, Cherubimon released the two digimon from her hold - laughing maniacally as they fell to the ground. Flamedramon leapt into the air to catch the falling Patamon and Gatomon, landing beside the digidestined, "So much for that. Do we have any other ideas?"

Cherubimon cackled playfully and repeated its mantra to them, "Go! Back!"

"Doesn't she ever get tired of repeating that?" Gargomon groaned, "She sounds like a broken record!"

"We can't go back," Willis complained, "There's no where to go back to!"

"GO! BACK!" Cherubimon growled out loud again, roaring so violently that the ground shook and the world seemed to split apart. When the violent earthquake ended, Gargomon sighed, "Okay, now she's just being difficult! Go back to what? Where else can we go?"

"I have no idea," Willis groaned, "I thought she meant to come back here. I don't know what she means by going back in time."

"Destroy," Cherubimon shouted again, clasping her hands together and creating a ball of dark energy that she targeted at them, "Destroy!"

"Alright, let's just get back to basics and stop her the old fashioned way!" Flamedramon's claws came ablaze and he attacked, "Flame Fist!"

"Gold Rush!" Digmon fired the drills from her body. Halsemon did the same, shooting blasts of wind from the protrusions on his helm, "Mach Impulse!"

Gargomon followed their lead and started shooting at the target, "Gargo Pellets!"

The attacks rained on Cherubimon, smashing into her with enough force that it sounded like thunder but she was unfazed by it. When she was ready, she released the blast of dark energy upon them. It came so fast that the digimon barely had enough time to get out of its way, rolling them along the ground and away from her. For all its force, all it did was disorient the digimon. Cherubimon moved to attack until Willis ran in front of her again to plead with his partner, "Wendigomon! No, Cherubimon! Stop it!"

"Destroy! Destroy!" Cherubimon growled again, "Destroy! Me!"

"What?" Davis asked, "Okay! Why does everyone we fight want to kill themselves? Like, what the actual hell?"

"Language, Davis," Cody stated sheepishly, "But you're right."

"Why, though?" Yolei squeaked, "Why would it want that?"

"Whatever the reason, we'd be happy to oblige," Flamedramon roared, coming aflame and leaping into the air, "Fire Rocket!"

He flew straight at Cherubimon and hit her square in the chest, then bounced back onto the ground without having harmed her in the slightest way. Cherubimon hissed at Flamedramon's effort, obviously disappointed by his effort, "Destroy! Me!"

"We're trying! You're not making it easy!" Digmon complained, "Now why don't you help us out and just blow yourself up already?"

"Easier said than done," TK looked down at his unconscious partner then over at Davis, "Davis! Why don't you use that other digiegg?"

"Other digiegg?" Davis raised an eyebrow in confusion before a dumbstruck expression came upon his face, "Oh yeah. I forgot I had that."

He looked over at Flamedramon and called out, "Flamedramon! Go back to Veemon! We're going to change you into Magnamon!"

"Digmon! Protect Veemon until he digivolves!" Cody shouted as well, knowing that Veemon would need time to digivolve. Digmon turned his head in disbelief at the task he'd been given and looked back up at Cherubimon hovering in the air above him. The bug digimon's shoulders slumped, "Sure, why not?"

"Don't worry, you won't be doing it alone!" Halsemon assured the bug, flying in first to zip around Cherubimon's ears. Cherubimon's eyes narrowed and he swatted at Halsemon, growing increasingly frustrated as Halsemon flew closer and closer. Each time, Halsemon took a small swipe at the large digimon in defiance of its large size and to show it who was the kind. Digmon did the only thing he could do and blasted away from below with his drill rockets, "Gold Rush!"

The drills peppered Cherubimon, covering her in smoke and distracting her enough that she failed to noticed Flamedramon or any of the other digimon. Gargomon joined the attack but in an unconventional way that only he could do. Gargomon fired his arm cannons straight into the ground - using the kickback from each shot to propel himself upward and briefly achieving flight to the awe of the others. Once he was high enough in the air, Gargomon retargeted his guns on Cherubimon before firing another barrage, "Eat this!"

Digmon slumped over, "Oh come on! He can fly too?"

"Don't worry about it," Halsemon said from above, "Just keep shooting!"

With Cherubimon thoroughly distracted, Davis raised his digivice and shouted, "Let's go! DigiArmor Energize!"

A golden light burst from his D-Terminal and into his D-3, illuminating Veemon as he flew into the air, "Veemon! Golden Armor Digivolve to! Magnamon, the Guardian of Miracles!"

The golden light he emanated immediately stole away Cherubimon's attention, and she lost any interest in the other digimon present. All that mattered was the golden digimon before her, "Destroy."

Magnamon stayed airborn, flying closer to Cherubimon but keeping just out of her reach. He pointed at her, "This is the one warning you're going to get. Stop this."

"Destroy!" Cherubimon swiped at Magnamon, just barely missing the golden digimon. Magnamon rushed in, closing the gap and slamming into Cherubimon so hard that she was thrown from the air and into the fields around the house. She rose back up quickly and returned the attack by slapping Mangamon away. The two digimon continued to clash, destroying the surrounding fields and setting them ablaze.

The scale of the destruction was unimaginable to these kids, as if forces of nature were at work. The destruction either digimon alone could cause was terrifying to witness and if it spilled out any further, it would only bring harm to anyone unfortunate enough to get caught up in it. There was no way for them to stop the fight at this point so they had to do the next best thing and take it somewhere else. Yolei looked at Willis, "Do you have a computer in your house?"

"An old one, yeah. Why?" Willis answered in a stupor, taken aback by how close she'd gotten. TK and Kari were already on the same page as her and excitedly said, "Yolei, you're a genius! Davis! We need your help!"

"What exactly are you guys doing?" Willis asked, only to be pulled along by Yolei, "We're going to open a gate to the Digital World. Where is it? Your computer?"

"Digital World? What are you guys talking about?" Willis asked incredulously, getting dragged along by both Yolei into his house. Davis slowly caught on and stated, "Just tell us where the computer is!"

"Upstairs!" Willis said, guiding them into the dusty old summer house that his family hadn't visited in a long time. He wanted to dwell on the nostalgia of being here but couldn't with the loud fighting outside. So he hurried into his old room where he'd first met the digimon Terriermon and Lopmon. Where the Digimon Tamer, Agumon and another digimon came crashing into his room. Where all of this craziness had first started. His dad's old computer was still in the office, covered in a fine layer of dust from disuse. Yolei clicked her tongue in surprise, "Wow, this thing's old."

"Who cares how old it is? It'll work right?" Davis picked up the monitor and grunting under its weight, "Crap this thing weighs a ton!"

"Of course it'll work," TK said excitedly, passing his unconscious partner to Kari while he helped to carry the desktop itself. Yolei grabbed the keyboard and mouse, and they brought the aged computer outside into the open field where the two battling digimon had turned the surrounding field into a terrifying blaze. The sight was something out of a nightmare - the heat making them sweat in the cold night air. Through the noise, they could hear the faint sound of sirens coming towards them.

Gargomon, Halsemon and Digmon did little more than stand aside to watch the fight play out - knowing they were completely outclassed in this battle. Yolei hurriedly put the computer back together on the ground while TK explained the plan to the other digimon, "Guys, you have to help Magnamon push that digimon back this way."

"Are you nuts? We're not going near that!" Gargomon pointed at the two fighting digimon as they traded blows again in the sky above, creating a blast so bright that it lit up the night sky like a flash of lightning. TK gestured at Yolei, "We're going to bring them back into the Digital World, but we need to get them closer to the computer!"

"How close do _we_ have to get to _them_?" Digmon asked. Halsemon sighed and flew ahead of the two hesitant digimon, "Never mind them! I'll go do it! Magnamon!"

Magnamon and Cherubimon managed to push themselves away from each other, but that didn't mean either was unaware of their surroundings. Both saw Halsemon coming their way, and Cherubimon saw her chance to destroy another digimon. But Magnamon was faste and pushed the gryphon out of harm's way, "It's dangerous here!"

"We need to push Cherubimon back to Yolei. They're opening a gate to the Digital World!" Halsemon explained, just as Cherubimon reached for them again. Both digimon moved out of its reach and scattered. Magnamon explained, "Tell them to get it open and I'll push it from my side!"

"Okay," Halsemon retreated back to the digidestined just as Yolei finished setting the computer up, "Alright! We got it!"

"So how are we going to open the gate if the computer's not plugged in?" Willis asked incredulously as TK patted his back, "We'll wing it! It's what we do best. Are you ready Magnamon?"

"JUST OPEN THE GATE ALREADY!" Magnamon shouted back as the two digimon traded blows one more time. Willis still had his doubts and complained, "But the computer's not even on! What kind of miracle are you expecting to happen here?"

Davis held up his digivice, "Are you kidding? Magnamon is the Guardian of Miracles! Here goes nothing! Digiport Open!"

On cue, the screen came to life with light and they felt themselves get sucked in. But something happened they didn't expect, Willis' digivice rang to life with the gate and made it take on a strange hue. Willis grasped his digivice, hoping it would stop but unsure why it was behaving that way in the first place. From above, Magnamon saw his cue and grabbed Cherubimon by one of her legs, "Don't mind me! They say rabbit's feet are lucky!"

The light from the computer grew larger and sucked them all in - pulling them straight into the Digital World. And they arrived in the worst place imaginable - Primary Village, on its plush ground and soft environment. All around them were hundreds of digieggs rested in safety while newborn digimon slept in cribs. Beyond were plenty of trees, whose serenity was broken only by Willis' screams, "AH! WHERE ARE WE!? WHAT IS THIS PLACE!? WHAT HAPPENED?"

His sudden scream awoke several of the infants and they started crying. The other digidestined went to consul the crying newborns while TK offered the panicking Willis a hand, "Welcome to the Digital World."

Once the blonde was upright, he looked around, "Digital World? Is this where Gargomon and Cherubimon come from?"

"That's right," Gargomon said, "Speaking of Cherubimon. Where'd she end up?"

As if on cue, the ground shook beneath their feet and they heard the unmistakable sound of thunder in the distance. Halsemon sighed, "I think it's where the explosions and the fire are coming from."

There was another loud boom and Magnamon appeared through the trees, sliding along the ground and stopping just short of their feet. He pushed himself back up and rose into the air, still ready to continue the fight, "Get back! She's coming this way! I'll hold her back!"

Magnamon charged forward, followed by Gargomon, "I'm going in there too! Don't count me out just yet! Gargo Pellets!"

"Magna Impact!"

Although they couldn't see through the trees, they could make out the flashes of light and the sounds of thunder. Halsemon and Digmon, not wanting to be left behind, also ran into the fray one more time. The digidestined could hear the fighting intensify from the distance they were at, and the noise awoke more wailing baby digimon. The cries awoke Gatomon and Patamon, "Look out!"

"She's going to eat us!"

"It's alright, you're safe!" Kari assured them, stroking Gatomon's fur to calm her partner down. Gatomon looked at her with big eyes and asked, "What happened? Where are…this is Primary Village!"

"Patamon! You're awake," TK took his partner excitedly, "Thank goodness!"

"Why are we here?" Patamon asked his partner who was all to happy to answer, "We took Cherubimon to the Digital World because of all the destruction she was causing in the Real World. Now we're just trying to figure out how to beat her."

"Before that, shouldn't we move all these eggs?" Cody pointed out, "And the newborn digimon! They'll be in danger here!"

"This is my fault," Willis stammered, "If I had taken care of Wendigomon before now, this wouldn't have happened. No one would have disappeared. Kokomon would never have become this. I wish…I wish I could go back in time. I wish I could make this right! And now Gargomon is out there…"

"Okay, y'know what?" Davis walked up to him and dealt a hard punch onto Willis. The blow knocked Willis on his butt while the others looked on in disgust, "What the hell Davis?"

Davis ignored them and kneeled down to look at Willis, "Bad stuff happens all the time. I get it. I do. Right now, your friend is the cause of the trouble. And you can't talk her out of it. Fighting her isn't going to be easy either because she's your friend."

"Then what am I supposed to do!?" Willis demanded. Davis threw up his arms in frustration, "I don't know. But what you can't do is sit there and feel sorry for yourself because then you're not helping any one. Look at Gargomon. He's still fighting and he hasn't given up. And you promised to do it with him! What kind of friend goes back on his promise?"

"But I can't do it. I can't put Kokomon down!" Willis pleaded, "She's still my friend!"

"You may not have to," TK suggested stupidly, "I mean. Not permanently anyway."

"What are you talking about TF?" Davis hissed, unaware of what TK was talking about. Thankfully, Patamon was already following his line of thought, "No, he's right! This is the Digital World. Digimon don't die here, they reset at Primary Village. They're practically born again."

"Is that how it works here? So what, digimon are just reborn when they die. What about the birds and the bees?" Willis asked anxiously. Davis asked, "What does a delivering food to your grandmothers have to do with anything?"

"That's Little Red Riding Hood," Cody corrected to a flustered Davis. The older goggle headed boy sighed, "Then which one is birds and the bees?"

"Not the time time of the place," Yolei reminded them by pointing at the flashes of light in the distance, "They may not be destroying the Real World any more but they're definitely destroying the Digital World!"

"So what's it going to be Willis?" Davis asked, staring at Willis with fire in his eyes. Willis swallowed a lump in his throat and nodded, "I..."

He hesitated, obviously torn by the unbelievable revelation before sighing, "Okay. I'll do it...Gargomon! You can do it!"

As he cheered his partner on, he failed to notice his digivice coming to life with light. The light shot forward into the forest, and Gargomon's voice echoed out, "Gargomon! Digivolve to! Rapidmon!"

Gargomon's form elevated above the trees, revealing that his large form was replaced by a slender golden robot with a thin helm and arms that resembled rocket launchers. At first glance, it looked like a machine in the shape of a jester. Yet it radiated a power that none of the digidestined has felt before. The machine looked down upon them, "Huh. This is new. I'm skinny. Never thought I'd see the day. Alright! Let's try out the new toys!"

Rapidmon aimed his cannons at the ground below and cried out, "Rapid Fire!"

He fired out a wave of missiles that blew apart the surrounding trees to reveal Cherubimon and the other digimon battling her. Annoyed by the new arrival, Cherubimon growled and rounded on her brother. Rapidmon fired back on Cherubimon as she reached for him, before waving her hands to stop him in his tracks. Magnamon used the distraction to strike her from behind, "Magna Punch!"

A flash of golden light hit its mark and knocked Cherubimon down onto the ground. Rapidmon saw his opportunity and fired another barrage from above, before finishing the attack by splitting a triangular beam of golden light onto her from above, "Miracle Missile!"

"Magna Impact!" Magnamon did the same, firing another blast of golden light from his body. The cloud of dust it kicked up blinded them briefly. When it passed, Cherubimon lay there distorted and flashing akin to corrupted data. It looked up at Willis with the same twisted smile it always had before replying, "Thank...you..."

"I'm sorry," Willis said back, watching as his old partner slowly turned to data before him. The digidestined noticed something different about her deletion though - a curious black smoke rising from her body as she became data. Cody pointed it out, "What's that?"

"Is that what made Kokomon do this?" Rapidmon asked, moving in to get a closer look. Magnamon held him back, "Don't get too close or it may go for you too."

As the smokey mass rose, it took the brief shape of an insect with tentacles, gesturing at them rudely until it too vanished into data. Willis stood for a moment, staring in stunned disbelief at the friend he'd just lost and mumbled something under his breath about how he should've faced this sooner. The digidestined looked between each other, most unsure of what to say after what happened. It truly was like Ken again - only they worried he may try to kill himself too. Willis only snapped back to reality when Rapidmon regressed to Terriermon, "Moumantai, Willis."

"She was your sister," Willis remarked. Terriermon shook his head, "She stopped being my sister a long time ago. I'm just glad the whole thing is over."

"So what happens now? How do we get her back?" Willis looked at the digidestined expectantly. TK answered, "Y'know, we don't really know. We usually just came here and found the digiegg."

"And where's the digiegg?" Willis said anxiously, "Where's Kokomon?"

"Why is it that when anything happens here, you humans are involved?" Elecmon joined them holding a digiegg firmly in his hands, "I'm assuming this is yours? It showed up seconds after you killed that evil looking digimon."

He held out an egg Willis recognized from a long time ago, one that brought him a great sense of relief, "Is that Kokomon?"

Willis reached for the egg but Elecmon held it back, "Hold it! If I give this to you, do you promise to clean up the mess you made here? Because this is just ridiculous, and you kids always take off before cleaning up the mess!"

Elecmon's words echoed with the Japanese digidestined while Willis looked at them in confusion, "What does he mean every time?"

"It's better not to think about it," Davis put his arms behind his head, "We'll help clean up! Promise! But…um…first, we kinda have to go back. Our parents are probably wondering where we are."

"Oh right. My mom is definitely pissed," TK put a finger to his chin and pondered just what trouble he'd get in now. Cody sighed, "And it's probably already morning back in Japan. Our parents are going wonder where we were all night."

"Who cares? It's summer!" Davis groaned.

"WHO'S GOING TO CLEAN THIS MESS!" Elecmon demanded angrily, alarming the digidestined from their discussion. Willis smiled, "If I say yes, can I have Kokomon back?"

"No, you all have to say yes!" Elecmon demanded angrily. Yolei's shoulders slumped, "We really don't have time for this."

"Well make time. Or else none of you are getting this digiegg back," Elecmon hugged the egg close, "First the Emperor and now you."

"If we all work together, we can get the job done quickly," Armadillomon looked up at them, hoping they'd take his suggestion to heart. Willis couldn't help but take another jab at Davis, "If it means spending more time with a couple of cute girls like Yolei and Kari, I don't mind."

Both girls blushed while Davis growled, "Back off, buddy!"

Their digimon partners laughed at the display, amused by the joke. Unfortunately, Elecmon didn't share their enthusiasm and growled, "CLEAN UP THIS MESS!"


	26. Veemon Digivolves

In a dark apartment somewhere in Tokyo, Oikawa huddled over his computer and typed away at the keyboard. To those who knew him, he was busy with another story for his job as a freelance journalist. He was a bit of an oddity amongst his colleagues, disappearing for months at a time but always resurfacing with some ground breaking story that was guaranteed to sell. This time though his screen contained no written text and instead displayed the image of a spider and a mummy staring back at him. As he type, he felt the presence of his childhood friend beside him, "Good. Everything's coming together."

Oikawa spun in his chair and saw the half rotted corpse of Hiroki Hida standing on the far side of his room. Hiroki's lips were half rotted away, so his smile just looked like bared teeth. The mere sight of him always gave Oikawa chills but he responded anyway, "When do we go to the Digital World?"

"Soon. We just need more time. The dark spore in Ichijouji has almost produced enough energy," Hiroki said back cheerily, "We just need to keep the Digidestined busy until then. If they ever realize what's going on, it will be the end of our ambitions."

"Hiroki. Why have we never just asked the digidestined?" Oikawa asked nervously. Hiroki's smile, or lack of one, vanished, "Because their ability to go between worlds is one they jealously guard. If they were willing to let others go to the Digital World, why haven't they?"

"But what about those two foreigners?"

"They were digidestined too. You saw their digivices," Hiroki reminded him, "They would never allow a none digidestined like yourself to enter the Digital World."

Oikawa nodded his understanding and returned to work on his computer, "I was just thinking that they seemed like a reasonable group of kids."

"That's how they seem. That's how they will continue to seem as long as The Digimon Tamer is around. They will abide by his rules, whether they are aware of it or not," Hiroki said confidently, "Don't be stupid, Yukio."

Hiroki's tone unsettled Oikawa, and he decided against pressing the matter. He simply nodded in agreement, "Yes. Yes, you're right. I overstepped my bounds."

Hiroki sighed even though his decaying body shouldn't had allowed him to, "Yukio you know I do what I must to ensure your safety. As long as the digidestined don't know of our plans, we will be able to proceed in relative safety. Worry not. Everything is going according to plan, old friend."

Oikawa nodded in agreement and went back to work on the computer, desperate to finish what he started. He was so close to his goal now; all it would require was patience. Something his associates weren't as keen to help out with. From the computer, a woman's voice asked, "Are you alright, master?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Yukio nodded, as he continued to work. The woman grunted, her tone clearly indicating she was upset as she answered, "I don't why we aren't just dealing with the digidestined right now."

"Because the longer we go undetected, the better our chances of achieving our ultimate goal," Yukio replied, "The only reason we've come this far is because they don't know we exist."

"And what about those other people that came by your apartment? The man in the orange suit and the white cape thing?" the woman's voice replied. Yukio knew who she was talking about right away and smiled, "Oh, you mean those government nuts? They won't come back. We barely registered on their radar the first time. As long as we continue to stay underneath it, they won't notice us again."

"Won't they be watching us?" the woman asked. Yukio nodded, "Probably. I am of the opinion that everything will be fine as long as we don't do anything to attract too much attention. The same with the digidestined."

"The digidestined. The only ones who can stop us. And you want to leave them alone?" the woman repeated distastefully. Yukio sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "It will be fine. Just leave them alone."

* * *

TK grumbled as he sat in his room, wishing he could go to the Digital World. Patamon stared at him quietly from the bed, knowing his partner hated nothing more than to be cooped up. He encouraged him to not get upset about it, but knew it wouldn't do much good. After their excursion in America, TK's mother grounded him and returned him to America with Kari where her parents were waiting for them. Originally, his dad was going to pick him up so that his mom could continue her journalist duty. But that hope was dashed when her missing colleague suddenly resurface, rambling nonsense about becoming a child and horrible nightmares. So she ended up having to return also.

Mimi was disappointed to learn they wouldn't be able to stay much longer, but also shook her head in amusement at TK's willingness to get himself into trouble.

The whole thing was a pain to TK, especially since his mom kept shooting him looks every time the news decided to reshow the story about angels appearing in Colorado. He desperately wanted to go with the others to the Digital World but his mom refused to let him out of his own room.

He just hoped the others were okay in the Digital World. They had all gotten into some degree of trouble with their parents for coming home so late from the _beach_. For whatever reason, only Kari's parents were unconcerned with her trip across America - although he wasn't sure if it was because they understood or were simply more lenient with the _only_ living child. He sighed and started spinning his hat with his finger, hoping for something to help make the time go faster.

* * *

In the Digital World, the younger digidestined and their partners helped with the clean up of Primary Village. They came the morning after their encounter with Cherubimon and worked under the supervision of Elecmon who was convinced one of them would try to wander off at the first opportunity. On their second visit, he thought to mention that Willis returned regularly to help with the clean up and that his digiegg hatched to give birth to a Kokomon. This news made them happy, but it bothered them that they likely wouldn't see Willis as he lived on the other side of the world and was likely sleeping while they were awake.

The older kids weren't happy to hear that they were being left to tend to ShogunGekomon's Village on their own but understood why. Each day, they did something different from rebuilding destroyed cradles to replanting destroyed trees. Today they were going to fix the wooden cradles that were damaged by their encounter with Cherubimon. Flamedramon, Digmon, and Shurimon took down the surrounding trees for timber and turned it into reeds for the rest of them to weave together into cradles for the newborn digimon. The hundreds of baby digimon cooed with fascination as they worked, amazed that they turned trees into baskets for them to use.

Yolei wiped the sweat off her forehead and moaned, "TK may be grounded but at least he doesn't have to do all this work."

"I hope he's okay by himself," Kari said quietly to herself. Davis mumbled, "TJ's fine. He's probably napping or something."

Although he hadn't intended to sound sarcastic, his tone made the others stare at him. When he finally noticed what was going on, he asked, "What?"

"Jealous?" Yolei asked with a sneaky glint in her eye. Davis dropped the crib he was trying to weave together and stomped off, alarming the baby digimon enough to make them cry. Everyone tried to calm the crying tots while Yolei tried to go after him, "It was a joke, Davis. Relax!"

"What's with him?" Halsemon asked Cody. Cody was surprised that Halsemon couldn't tell but chose not to say anything, unsure if it was his place to say anything at all. When he didn't answer, Digmon. Hose to answer for him, "He's been moody since we stopped Kimeramon. Maybe it's just a human thing."

"You don't think it has to do with Ken, do you?" Kari asked. Flamedramon ran past them after his partner, "Davis! Where are you going!? Come back!"

"We just lost a fourth of our help," Gatomon pointed out, "Good work, Yolei."

"Oh come on! He gives me crap all the time!" Yolei snapped back, "It's not my fault that he's being a baby."

Cody nodded in agreement, "True. But you didn't like it when he did it to you so why would he like it if you did it to him?"

"That wasn't my point Cody. Damn, you should not be this good at guilt tripping people," Yolei groaned in frustration. Cody nodded, "I just thought it'd be good to make you understand each other."

"Well, then make me understand what's going on with him?" Yolei thumbed in the direction Davis had gone. Gatomon snidely remarked, "Do you really have to ask?"

Their banter caught Elecmon's attention and he snapped at them, "Hey! No talking! There's still a lot of work to do!"

* * *

Davis stormed off into the woods, grumbling under his breath and trying to keep his cool despite the overwhelming desire to hit something as hard as he could. He eventually gave in and kicked a rock, only to hurt his own foot in the process. He heard footsteps behind him and saw Flamedramon running up to him. The armored dinosaur slid to a halt beside him, "What gives Davis!? Where are you going!?"

"I just needed some space," he grumbled, kicking the dirt and pocketing his hands, "You should head back."

"No way. I'm your partner. I'm not going anywhere without you," Flamedramon said back, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Davis deflected until Flamedramon picked him up, "If you're going to act like a little kid I'm going to treat you like one. What is going on with you Davis?"

"It's nothing," Davis insisted until his partner shook him, "I am your partner and I can tell when you're lying. What is wrong?"

"It's Kari, okay?" Davis finally answered, his nerves shaken and unable to talk straight. Flamedramon smiled and dropped him, amused as he tried to straighten himself out before continuing, "It's TF and Taichi and Jun. It's a lot of things, okay."

"Okay. Now we're getting somewhere," Flamedramon smiled, "So are you going to elaborate?"

Davis closed his eyes and tried to collect his thoughts, but it was all so overwhelming that it was harder to get it straight in his head than it was to just speak his mind, "Okay. It's...it's...look, I'm not an idiot. I know Kari only ever liked me because she thinks I look like her dead brother who it turns out isn't dead and...is walking around with another name. That's a whole thing that makes my head hurt when I have to think about it. And now he's dating my sister, which is...crazy. But I always thought maybe she'd see past that one day and just see me for me, y'know?"

"Oh, wow. This is going to go deep, isn't it?" Flamedramon asked, watching his partner pace with uncertainty, "I really thought it would happen one day, y'know? Then TK showed up and all this craziness happened. And the more time passes, the harder it is to not see TK and her. The way those two talk, it's more natural and...calm. I try not to think about it but those two have history that I don't. When he first showed up, she greeted him like an old friend. Heck, even their partners...Patamon and Gatomon become angels!"

"I think I feel insulted," Flamedramon added dryly, watching his partner pace until he realized, "Wait! You said his name right!"

"Of course I did!" Davis remarked, "I know everyone thinks I'm dumb, Flamedramon."

"And they also know you're not as dumb as you lead on to be," Flamedramon added, trying to comfort his partner and friend, "So...you like Kari. Why not just come out and tell her?"

"Because she's not stupid either. She knows I like her," Davis commented, "I just don't think she'd ever want to talk about it because she's more comfortable where we are now. She won't admit it, but she treats me like a stand in for her brother."

"Huh," Flamedramon blinked in surprise as his partner sank to the ground in frustration, "Sorry. I don't want to be a bummer so I wanted to be alone."

Flamedramon put a hand on his shoulder, "Davis, I'm your friend. I'm not going to leave you alone, especially when you're feeling as down as you are. That's the most important time to have someone beside you."

Davis grunted and crossed his legs, his mood reversing completely, "Plus, it gives me some time to think."

"What?" Flamedramon circled around to face his partner, "Weren't you upset a couple of seconds ago?"

"I was," Davis smiled, jumped back up to his feet, "I bounce back quick. I was thinking, a good way to break out of her brother's shadow might be to have you Digivolve like her partner does into AngeVeemon or something."

"I'm not sure that's how it works. Besides, you thought armor digivolving worked by throwing the egg at Monochromon. So how are you going to figure our normal digivolution?" Flamedramon asked seriously. He was answered with a soft hit on the head, "Ow! What was that for?"

"I thought for sure that would work," Davis mulled to himself quietly. His partner demanded, "Thought what would work?"

"Before you can digivolve, you have to go back to being Veemon," Davis said matter of factly. His partner rolled his eyes in frustration, "You could have just asked you know? Seriously, how can someone who does such dumb things also be so smart, but still dumb? I mean, what gives?"

As he griped, he regressed back to Veemon, "I like ya Davish but shometimesh I wonder if there'sh shomething wrong with you."

Davis retained his goofy smile, "If I were that simple, Ken Ichijouji would've kicked my butt."

Veemon sighed, "Davish. He did kick your butt. A lot. One time it wash jusht to prove that he could if he wanted to, remember?"

"Okay, don't ruin the mood," Davis grumbled, crossing his arms. To Veemon's terror, a smile appeared on Davis's face as he came up with ideas to get his partner to digivolve.

* * *

Izzy continued his work on Andromon, trying his best to undo the programming that corrupted their friend. He was pretty sure he had it figured out this time, but it was really impossible to tell with so much of the Ancient language being undecipherable to him. He was able to get by with a lot guess work, trial-and-error, and inference from common programming languages in the Real World but he was worried that one wrong coding error could lead to a catastrophic malfunction in the digimon permanently. He'd reviewed the code several times but now he was mostly certain that he could awaken the mechanical digimon safely. He gestured at Tentomon to clear the town square and the bug digimon shouted, "Okay everyone! Get back! He's going to turn on Andromon!"

There were a few gasps as the normal digimon backed away, while the guards rushed forward to attack in case Izzy couldn't shut him down in time. Izzy typed away on the keyboard and watched nervously as the android came back to life. He waited a few moments, hoping that Andromon wouldn't go on another berserker rampage. The digimon shook and twitched, "Error..Error…Ken Ichijouji is here…here…Tamer…mer…you have to flee…Error. Syntax code error. Fatal system crash."

"Oh crap," Izzy opened a new window on his laptop and tried to fix the issue with Andromon before he crashed beyond repair, "Hang in there, Andromon."

"Izzy's what's going on?" Tentomon called out to him. Izzy couldn't answer, he was too busy trying to fix whatever had caused the problem with Andromon. He was so certain that he had it right that time, but this too was a failure. After a few key strokes, Andromon shook again, "Error…performing internal diagnostics…error code…syntax error...loading back up...repairing damaged code from back up."

"Wait, what?" Izzy hadn't expected this: a computer that could repair and overwrite bad code from a back up. He quickly unplugged his laptop to spare it in case Andromon decided to overwrite its code and stepped away, worried over what would come next. Tentomon stepped forward, ready to defend his partner and the guards raised their spears. Then Andromon spasmed, "Restoration complete. Scanning. One digidestined identified. Alarm! The Digimon Tamer is in danger. Ken Ichijouji has gone rogue and is attacking!"

"Andromon! Calm down," Izzy tried to reason with the mechanical digimon, "Everything's alright! We stopped the Emperor!"

"Mostly everything," one of the villagers commented dryly. Izzy ignored that comment and continued trying to reason with the android until it calmed down, "Scanning. Location…ShogunGekomon's palace. Request for information. What happened to Ken Ichijouji?"

"The others were able to stop him. He's with his parents now," Izzy explained to the mechanical digimon. The android nodded its understanding and then looked around at the village, slowly processing everything that happened since his last back up. The guards remained on edge, keeping their weapons at the ready in case he became hostile. Izzy did his best to keep Andromon's attention away from them, "How are you feeling?"

"There are several syntax errors in my coding that are being corrected by the repair software," Andromon answered, "Where is The Digimon Tamer and Agumon?"

"We don't know where Agumon is and The Digimon Tamer is…complicated," Tentomon answered for him. Andromon gave something like a quizzical look and Izzy elaborated, "We have no idea where the Digimon Tamer is. But there is a guy running around in our world who looks like him but he doesn't know anything about us or the Digital World. We're trying to figure out if that's him or not."

Andromon's expression resembled something like surprise, "Acknowledged. Based on provided information, it seems that The Digimon Tamer has undergone the insertion protocol. It would suggest The Digimon Tamer was in danger and had to hide. We must ready defense guidelines for-"

Panic began to spread through the guards and a small crowd gathered around Andromon as he began rambling incoherently. Izzy shook the android and stated, "Slow down, Andromon! What are you talking about? What's the insertion protocol!?"

Andromon paused briefly, "Request for information received. Inquirer is digidestined. Permissions approved. The 'Insertion Protocol' is a method for Ancients to obtain information from a selected world through immersion by living among the denizens of that world. They undergo a process that overwrites the Ancient's biology and memories, creating a being with a separate identity and knowledge. This Ancient lives among the denizens of the world for a set time until they can be removed, at which time the new information is extracted and archived. Afterwards, the original biology and memories are restored."

Izzy stared slack jawed at Andromon, trying to process the new information Andromon had just provided. If what he said was true, then Taichi Yagami was The Digimon Tamer without his memories. Again. If that was even possible. And they had to restore it. He looked at Andromon, "Where would we find the original memories?'

Andromon turned his head, "We would need to find the Ancient's digivice, which will contain the archived memories and biology of The Digimon Tamer. Afterwards, he can be restored."

"And where do we find that?" Izzy asked.

"If the Digimon Tamer did not keep it close to his human body, it would most likely be with someone he would trust more than anyone else. His partner - Agumon," Andromon answered firmly, "And there's no doubt that Agumon would have gone into hiding. If Tamer's memories are to be restored, Agumon needs to be found."

Izzy scratched the back of his head, shocked and overwhelmed by this new information. It seemed running and hiding was no longer enough to protect Tamer from whatever trouble he'd landed in. Now he had to completely change himself into someone different. Izzy felt a twinge of fear as he wondered what Tamer was so afraid of that he would choose this over his usual run and hide. Even Myotismon and the Dark Masters hadn't inspired this kind of fear from him. So what could?

* * *

Veemon stood at the base of a hill and stared up in disbelief as Davis pushed a large boulder as hard as he could. Veemon felt the sweat running down his face, scared out of his mind, "Davish, what ish thish shupposhed to accomplish?"

Davis grunted and groaned as he pushed the boulder with all of his might, "Easy. We're...trying to push...this over so...that it rolls...at you. If…we put you...in danger…you should digivolve!"

"I don't think that'sh how thish worksh," Veemon shook as he watched the boulder start to give under Davis' constant pushing. Then he heard the groan that signaled it had finally tipped over the edge, and it began its slow tumble towards Veemon. As slow as it was going, Veemon couldn't help but feel it was actually going faster and he noticed how much bigger it was up close. Panicked, Veemon leapt out of its path at the last second, "FORGET THISH!"

He skid along the ground and ate a lot of dirt, but it was better than being crushed by that giant boulder. Said boulder disappeared into the forest behind him but he could still see the treetops moving as the boulder rolled past. Davis groaned in frustration and hurried to his partner's side, "Come on Veemon! What happened?"

"I dechided I didn't want to be a pancake," Veemon snarked, pushing himself back up and dusting off, "Can we try literally anything elshe? Becaushe I don't want to be crushed by a rock!"

"Well, there goes that idea," Davis folded his arms. A contemplative look came across his face that alarmed the little blue digimon. Veemon pointed at Davis and added, "No rocksh! Or anything elshe shtupid like that!"

"I know, I know," Davis said, still mulling over what he could do to help his partner to digivolve, "I'm just thinking of what else we could go to help you digivolve?"

"Why don't we ashk the othersh for shuggeshtionsh? I mean, Gatomon and Patamon would know shince they're the onesh who digivolve" Veemon suggested only to be shut down quickly by Davis, "No! I don't want to bother Kari with this."

"You jusht don't want them to know that you're crazhy jealoush," Veemon winced at his partner. His partner ignored that remark and paced questioningly as he tried to decide what he wanted to do next. Veemon realized that he wasn't going to get anywhere convincing his partner to drop this endeavor and sat down, deciding he should relax until Davis came to his senses. Then they both felt the ground shake beneath them. Trees cracked apart as the saw them bend apart in the distance, until eventually a large minotaur like digimon with a gun grafted to its arm appeared. He was covered in a fine layer of dirt that concealed some bruising along the side of his skin.

He growled at them both, and Veemon cowed under the giant monster of a digimon, "Are you mad about the boulder?"

The minotaur continued to growl, as if to confirm Veemon's suspicions. The little blue digimon pointed at his partner and gulped, "Davish did it."

"Dude! Not cool!" Davis spat back at his partner in disgust, "I mean what the hell?"

"Pleashe don't eat me! I enjoy life!" Veemon panicked, unable to stop himself from backing away in a panic. Davis was at a loss for his partner's behavior, "You're not going to let me be eaten, are you Veemon? I mean, that thing eats people?"

Veemon shook his head, "Nah. Minotarumon aren't known for eating meat. They're herbivoresh. The worsht they'll do is kill you if you make 'em mad."

"Oh is that all? Thanks for making me feel so much better," Davis rolled his eyes in disbelief.

"I'm not the one who rolled the boulder," Veemon argued back. Davis sighed, "I did it to help you digivolve. Speaking of which, this seems like the perfect time for you to digivolve."

"What?" Veemon looked at Davis with surprise, scared of what he was planning next. Davis positioned himself behind Veemon and pushed his partner forward, "Think about it. You just have to digivolve to stop that thing."

"But Davish! I can't digivolve!" Veemon pointed out, which made Davis smile playfully, "First time for everything, go get'em partner!"

Minotarumon had done nothing but snarl and growl at them as they argued with each other. He was mad, obviously from the boulder than hit him and wasn't in the mood to let them continue bantering to his face. He roared once more and ran at them on all fours, intent upon trampling them under his feet. Veemon swallowed a lump in his throat, "Now would be a good time to Armor Digivolve Davish!"

"Or just regular digivolve," Davis said back. Veemon stamped his foot on the ground, "I am not doing that Davish! You need to digivolve me and you need to do it now!"

"You can do it Veemon!" Davis cheered, only to be disappointed when Veemon turned tail to run. The little digimon had the sense to not sit there and wait to be killed like his partner, and grabbed his arm to make sure he ran Too, "Forget it. Let'sh jusht get out of here!"

"We can't run Veemon! You have to digivolve!" Davis countered to his partner's dismay. Behind them, Minotarumon quickly closed the gap and drove between them, knocking them apart against different trees. Then it rounded on Davis, snorting in his face and growling. The world spun and shook as Davis tried to steady himself, realizing the mistake he'd made too late and pressing against the tree, "Um...Veemon, now would be a really good time to digivolve."

"You're right! Sho ushe the digiegg and armor digivolve me!" Veemon complained angrily, rising onto his knees to face Minotarumon. Sense finally returned to Davis and he reached for his digivice only to have it swatted away by Minotarumon. It slid to a halt along the ground and snarled at him, snorting in his face and making the young digidestined gag in disgust, "Hey. Look. If you're gonna kill me, could you at least make sure the last thing I smell isn't your breath."

Minotarumon pauses as it considered what he asked, before growling again and smashing the ground with its fist. Davis yelped, his eyes looked off to his partner pleadingly. Veemon looked at the digivice, knowing Davis would need it but also aware there was no way to get it back to his partner without first going through Minotarumon. Which left him one option. He ran at the giant minotaur and leapt into the air, "Leave Davish alone you bully!"

Davis was in awe of his partner's bravery and selflessness, feeling nothing but shame at his own stupidity. He couldn't do that again. Not to his partner. He silently cheered his partner on as he struck Minotarumon from behind. It should have been impossible with his digivice so far away, but the device came to life on its own - whistling and humming with a bright light that that wrapped around Veemon.

"Veemon! Digivolve to! ExVeemon!"

The light faded and ExVeemon stepped out of the light to sock Minotarumon in the face. The digimon was like a taller, lankier Veemon only with a razor sharp blade on his nose where a horn had been before and pale leather wings growing from his back. Minotarumon snarled back at them before getting socked again, this time getting pushed away, "Back off! We're not looking for a fight! We're sorry about before, so let's just call it water under the bridge."

Minotarumon snarled and charged straight at them. ExVeemon dug his heels into the ground and braced for the impact, grappling with Minotarumon and slowly sliding back as the minotaur pushed him away, "We don't want to hurt you! Stop!"

Minotarumon refused to listen and pushed back even harder. Realizing that he couldn't reason with the minotaur, ExVeemon curled his hand into a fist and punched the bull in the snout with all his might. Minotarumon staggered, stepping away and holding his snout where ExVeemon made his mark. And when he pulled his hands away, the pair saw part of Minotarumon's skin had vanished to reveal a dark metal underneath - looking at first like bone but that wasn't quite right. It was off. Still, ExVeemon gasped at how hard he'd hit the digimon, "Oh crap. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

Minotarumon snarled with more anger and charged at them again. Before ExVeemon could finish his apology, he braced himself for another hit and was pushed back further. This close, ExVeemon was able to get a better look at the dark metal, "What is that? It's...not right"

"What kind of digimon is Minotarumon?" Davis gasped in disbelief, until ExVeemon stated, "This isn't a Minotarumon. I don't know what it is. Which means...I don't have to hold back!"

Free to attack with impunity, ExVeemon kicked back with all his strength and flew into the air with his wings, "I don't know what you are but the Digital World has had enough rampaging monsters! Ex-Laser!"

The cross mark across his chest came aglow with golden light and blasted forward at Minotarumon. Minotarumon snarled and hissed as he was struck by the golden radiance, obliterating the digimon in its tracks and turning it into a cloud of black dust like what they saw with Wendigomon, before it too became nothing. Relief came over the young digidestined and his partner, glad that the fight was over but unsure of what it was that attacked them. It looked like a digimon, but it clearly wasn't so what was it? Before they could ponder this question, they saw the other digidestined step out to join them - all with wide eyed shock present on their faces. Davis was about to wave at them when he saw the fear on Kari's face. She looked between him and ExVeemon before asking, "Davis...what did you do?"

"We were attacked by Minotarumon," Davis answered quickly, realizing how things must have looked, "Or something that looked like one."

"You guys killed a digimon!" Cody pointed out at them, only to be rebuked, "We already told you, it wasn't a digimon. Whatever it was, it was different."

"You killed a digimon!" Kari repeated, stalking towards Davis and ExVeemon with a livid glare, "What's gotten into you?"

"Kari, please listen! We already said it wasn't a digimon," Davis repeated himself, "Whatever it was, it was different. It…had this weird black stuff under its skin. And smoke came out of it when we beat it. Like Wendigomon. You guys saw that right?"

"What do you think Yolei?" Halsemon asked his partner who stared dumbstruck, "I really don't know what to think."

"It wasn't a digimon! We swear!" Davis said, trying to reason with them, "I'm not crazy!"

Davis and ExVeemon desperately tried to explain it to them, hoping they'd believe it. The looks on their faces remain unconvinced, unsure of what they saw. It was only when another digimon poked its head out of the forest that Davis realized what he'd just stepped in. It was a small Gekomon holding a spear, accompanied by Biyomon and Sora. The rio looked at them in disbelief; Gekomon dropped the spear in his hand while Biyomon frowned, "What did you do?"

"It's not how it looked," Davis shouted, frustrated that no one was believing him. Cody asked, "What are you doing here anyway?"

"We came to find you guys," Sora explained, "Izzy woke up Andromon. Or Andromon woke himself up. It was weird. Anyway, you guys have to hear what he has to say."

"We'll figure this out later," Gatomon sighed, looking at Davis wearily. Davis's shoulders slumped as the Gekomon complained, "I kinda feel like this takes precedent."

Biyomon elbowed the digimon while Sora folded her arms, "Don't worry. We'll be talking about this."

Davis's frown grew, looking to his partner who was just as distraught that no one believed them. He guessed he should count his blessings as this meant they were no longer on him about Minotarumon however he was disappointed to see that none of them commented on his partner's normal digivolution. It almost didn't even seem worth it bother anymore.

* * *

In a darkened apartment in the Real World, Oikawa looked at his computer screen with a scowl, "What the hell were you thinking? That was a dangerous move to make! The digidestined are aware something is wrong now."

"Yes, but it provided us with a useful tool," the woman's voice replied on the computer screen. Oikawa raised an eyebrow suspiciously, "And how is that?"

"One of the digidestined and his digimon were seen killing another digimon," the voice responded with a bemused smile, "It means that there will be doubts about the intentions of the digidestined now. If I play this out as I want to, it'll mean the digidestined will lose the trust of the digimon they've come to protect. More importantly, it will spread doubts within their team. And how long until they're seen as worse than the Emperor?"

Oikawa mused at this new consideration. She had a point. And if the digidestined lose the support of the digimon they're supposed to the protect, that would only increase the discord and distrust between their groups. Perhaps his subordinate hadn't made as much of a mistake as he thought. A soft smile drew itself on his lips and he looked at the screen with satisfaction, "That's a good idea. We'll see how it plays out for the time being. But keep in mind. If this draws attention to us, it will be on your head Arukenimon."

"Who are you talking to?"

A new voice joined them and Oikawa froze. On screen, he saw the woman looked over her shoulder at none other than Ken Ichijouji and his partner Wormmon sitting on his shoulder. She positioned herself to obscure the screen, attempting to shield Oikawa from being seen. To help distract the boy genius, Arukenimon chastised him, "Don't you know it's rude to eavesdrop?"

"You're the one who broke into my room in the middle of the night," Ken replied in a Tamer-ish tone, "I was thinking it was long over due that I start making up for my mistakes. There's no point in me sitting around feeling sorry for myself. Then I saw you make that digimon with the control spire. That shouldn't be possible. How'd you do that?"

"With my hair," Arukenimon answered, "So what? Are you here to stand in for The Digimon Tamer? I hear he's on the run from an angry octopus."

Ken shook his head, "No. I'm not the Digimon Tamer and Wormmon's not Agumon. Fate or destiny or whatever, isn't on our side. I'm not sure if it ever was. If Wormmon and I tried to fight you, we'd probably be slaughtered."

"So you're going to run away, then? Not get involved?" Arukenimon asked mockingly. Ken shook his head, "No. But the digidestined need to hear about you. So I'm going to warn them. Let them know about you and whoever you're talking to."

"And if they don't believe you? It's not like you've done anything to earn their trust. After all you've done, the digidestined and the digimon will never believe you," Arukenimon pointed out. Ken scoffed, pocketing his hands, "I don't expect it to be easy. But if they don't believe me, then I'll just have to help them out from behind the scenes. It's not like they need to trust me for me to help them, y'know?"

A beat followed as the two stared at each other in silence. Ken turned to leave, "Well, since we're not going to fight each other, I guess we'll be seeing each other around. Later."

"Well this is a problem," Arukenimon stated, waiting a second longer before Ken disappeared. Oikawa sighed and folded his hands in front of his face, "I think your plans have just been set back."

"Then we'll have to try something else," Hiroki stated, appearing beside him with flesh so rotten it seemed that it would fall off right away, "You'll have to scrap your current project and try something else. And she'll have to make up for her mistake by operating as the distraction."

"Yes. Distraction," Oikawa mulled, watching Arukenimon look back at him in terror, "You'll be our new red herring for the time being."

Arukenimon frowned but understood her master's request, "I'll do what needs to be done, sir."

 


	27. The Eagle

The older digidestined gathered inside ShogunGekomon's chambers with their partner digimon. They were happy to see Andromon back to his old self and shared with him what happened since they last saw each other years ago. In exchange, Andromon asked to be told what he'd missed while under the Emperor's control. Izzy paraphrased if for him as he wasn't there for a lot of it - the new digidestined and their new digivices, armor digivolutions, the control spires, and how the Emperor had been defeated. Then

For his part, Izzy was distracted by what Andromon told him and worried who had heard it. Supposedly, there was still a spy in the village. All they could do at this point was hope the spy didn't learn of Andromon's retur , although it was unlikely it would be a problem since Ken was no longer running around as the Digimon Emperor. However, with Myotismon's return on the horizon and with as little as they knew, Izzy worried what would happen if this spy was an agent of Myotismon. He only forgot his worries when the newer digidestined arrived with their partners, along with Sora, Biyomon and the Gekomon who went with them. Upon seeing the android upright, Kari ran to greet him, "It's good to have you back, Andromon."

"It's good he's not shooting us on sight any more," Gatomon snarked, her tail wagging back and forth playfully.

"So what's going on, Izzy?" Davis asked the computer whiz. Sora folded her arms and looked at the newer digidestined, "Tell them quickly. We've got other stuff that needs to be brought up too."

Izzy's expression was dour as he explained, "Based on what Andromon told us, it looks like Taichi may be Tamer if that...would you like to explain Andromon?"

"Affirmative. Based on provided information, The Tamer has undergone the Insertion Protocol," Andromon began quietly, "The Digimon Tamer's memories and biology are overwritten by preset memories and personality to create a new identity. It is likely that life form identified as 'Taichi Yagami' is The Digimon Tamer in this state. During which time, he will have no reaction to his original identity of 'The Digimon Tamer' and will become combative if the overwritten personality is pressed on the issue. If this is the case, the only way to restore The Digimon Tamer will be to find his digivice which will contain his backed up personality and memories. It is most likely that it is with Agumon at this present time."

"But why would he do that to himself?" Kari asked nervously, "I mean…why?"

"Data unavailable at this time," Andromon answered, "He did not initiate this protocol during his time with Myotismon, the Dark Masters, or Apocalymon. There is insufficient data to determine the reason."

"Maybe it has to do with Myotismon coming back?" Joe guessed, but Matt rolled his eyes, "I doubt it. He didn't do this before when he knew it was coming."

Izzy nodded in agreement and asked, "Which raises the question: what freaked him out enough that he decided running and hiding weren't enough? He made himself a completely different person."

"That's a good question and one I think we're all better off not thinking about right now," Joe shuddered at the thought as it crept up his mind, "I think we should try to find out where Agumon is. Then we can ask Tamer himself to tell us what's going on."

"Is that a good idea, though? I mean, he did this for a reason and if Agumon's hiding, it's obvious he doesn't want to be turned back," Izzy proposed quietly, until Matt snapped, "Yeah, no. Fuck that. We can't keep running around in the dark like this. Tamer promised us way back that he'd do more to keep us in the loop and he hasn't. Especially with this. We know about Myotismon coming back and that's it. That doesn't tell us a thing about the new kids-"

"What did we do?" Yolei took offense until Matt added, "Nothing, it's the fact that the Digital World was in trouble and there wasn't much us older kids could do to help. But it's not just you guys. Armor digivolution, the control spires, Ken Ichijouji, Myotismon...there's a lot going on and I don't like the fact none of us knew what was going on until after the fact. I mean, he didn't even tell us he was back from wherever he was. I'm sure Kari and...Sora would've liked to know that."

"But where should we even start looking?" Gabumon asked, "We had Agumon for about a day before he just wandered off and nobody's seen him since."

"None of the scouts reported seeing him, and we've asked the Agumon several times. There are no new Agumon in the guard so he's not hiding there," Ogremon stated, "Which means he's not here."

"Why not just use our digivices?" Cody suggested. Izzy looked at him with surprise, disappointed that he'd forgotten that the new digidestined had such a useful tool, "Oh yeah. The new D-3's have the Discover function. You should've been able to locate Tamer's digivice forever ago."

"Why didn't any of us think to try that sooner?" Kari facepalmed, reaching for her D-3 only for Yolei to reveal she'd been faster on the draw. She messed with the buttons and examined the screen carefully before stating, "If he's even in the Digital World. I don't know how far this map spreads out but it looks like he's nowhere near here."

Joe pointed out the obvious, "Digital World's a big place, about the size of our world. And, unlike us, Tamer knows how to open gates anywhere and whenever he wants. There's no doubt that Agumon would know how to as well."

"Well…that just means we'll have to go looking for him then," Armadillomon nodded with certainty. Again Cody came forward with a suggestion, "Maybe not. Remember how we got to America? We could just try using that network thing Ken talked about and see if we can find him there somewhere."

"What network?" Wizardmon asked, stepping closer towards Cody in a way that made the little boy uncomfortable. Unable to answer under Wizardmon's intense gaze, Davis spoke for him, "There's some room over in some castle that Ken took us to when we had to get to America. He called it The Network and it had a bunch of TVs showing us all these different worlds."

"And you guys are telling us this now?" Matt demanded more angrily than he should. Davis stepped back fearfully from the look on Matt's face alone but he relaxed when Sora put a hand on his shoulder, "Matt, relax."

"Yeah…yeah…just…still steamed about this whole Tamer thing," Matt admitted dryly. Gomamon joked, "And you're the one whose crest is friendship."

"Fascinating. To think The Digimon Tamer and Agumon would have guarded such a thing so jealously," Wizardmon mused to himself, "Tell me, where is this castle? How soon can we get there?"

"It's probably back in Myotismon's old place," Gatomon stated sheepishly, "I mean, where else would they put it? They probably moved back in after they got back from being 'locked outside reality'. Or whatever it was they said."

"So are we not going to address what we saw earlier?" one of the Gekomon asked bitterly, pointing a warning finger at Davis, "He killed a digimon! A Minotarumon."

"Were getting to it," Sora sighed, noting the concerned looks from the older kids while Davis spat back, "I already told the other guys, it wasn't a normal digimon. It was...I don't know. It was like something wearing a Minotarumon suit."

"Shomething darker than black and harder that metal. Kinda like a control shpire but it moved," Veemon added sheepishly in their defense. The Gekomon was unmoved by the claim and insisted, "You guys killed a digimon!"

"Before this goes any further, we did check to make sure he isn't DemiDevimon, right?" ShogunGekomon asked the rest of his guards, who all nodded in agreement. A group of Agumon and Gekomon rounded on the lone Gekomon who remained adamant, "I'm not DemiDevimon, damnit! I'm a Gekomon. Guys, come on. I've been here forever!"

"He could be the spy," Matt pondered until the Gekomon stamped his foot, "You guys just want me to stay quiet about what I saw, don't you!?"

"No, we saw it too," Cody added to the Gekomon's defense, leaving Davis dumbstruck at the side he took.

"Honestly, we were talking about it when you showed up," Kari added quietly, further hurting the goggled headed boy's esteem, "Because we know what we saw, too. But…this isn't the kind of thing you'd do, y'know?"

"Yes, thanks for all the support guys," Davis remarked sarcastically, turning to Kari expectantly, "You believe us, right Kari? That wasn't a real digimon that attacked us. It was…something else!"

Kari's expression seemed mixed and torn, and her hesitation betrayed what she actually seemed to be thinking, "I…I want to believe you."

"Stress is documented to make people see things," Joe commented sheepishly, "The stress alters your perception and sometimes your mind will make things up to help cope with it. I don't doubt you think it was a fake digimon."

"Man, forget you guys!" Davis scoffed angrily, disturbed that even Kari was struggling to take his side on this. He wasn't crazy, and he knew it, "I know what I saw!"

"That'sh right! It washn't real!" Veemon argued for his partner, "It wash a fake digimon!"

ShogunGekomon folded his arms and closed his eyes in deep contemplation. He grunted as he listened to the digidestined argue but eventually opened his mouth to say, "This news is troubling. The last thing we need at this time is for another Digimon Emperor to appear and ruin the Digital World."

"I'm not the Emperor. I mean I'm not Ken!" Davis insisted furiously, "I know how it looks but it wasn't!"

"We're just...concerned Davis," Cody stated, "I have no doubt that you acted in self defense. But...you may have gone too far. My dad always said that the police who use their authority to bully others are no better than the criminals they protect us from."

"Yeah, if I'm being honest I think Davis just told you to hit it harder than you had to," Yolei nodded in agreement, "That doesn't make you bad guys but that doesn't make what you did any better."

"But it attacked ush!" Veemon added, "I mean, yeah we rolled a boulder at it but it wash an accident and we shaid shorry!"

"Wait, Boulder? What did you roll a boulder for?" Kari asked disbelievingly. Davis opened his mouth to answer but no words came out so Veemon spoke, "Davish wash trying to make me digivolve y rolling it at me."

"Why!?" Hawkmon asked disbelievingly. Before Davis could say another word to salvage the situation he was in, the doors into the throne room burst open and a group of Agumon rushed in. They ran to a stop before ShogunGekomon and bowed, bending their knees in respect but speaking with urgency, "Lord ShogunGekomon! A Golemon is attacking the dam that feeds water into the village! The guards are trying to fight it back, but it's strong! We need reinforcements!"

"One Golemon?" ShogunGekomon repeated disbelievingly, "Are you sure? That's difficult to believe for one digimon."

Palmon took this moment to add, "But that doesn't make sense. Golemon are usually relaxed and docile. They don't become angry unless someone tells them to."

The Agumon added, "It's the truth! We don't know why it's after the dam but we can't get it to stop!"

"Then what are we standing around for? Let's go!" Davis said, already turning towards the door and straight into the spears of several Gekomon, "You're not going anywhere until we stop to talk about this!"

"Come on, really?" Davis clicked his tongue disgustfully, "Your entire village is about to get flooded and all you care about is that? Seriously?"

"We're not sending a murderer to protect us!" a Gekomon snapped.

"We'll discuss it later," ShogunGekomon sighed, motioning to the Gekomon to let Davis and Veemon through. They stepped aside, allowing them to pass but staring at them contemptuously. Veemon stopped at the door when he realized the others weren't following, looking back to see them staring hesitantly at himself and Davis. It hurt to be seen that way but he asked anyway, "Are you guysh coming?"

"Yeah," Kari was the first to nod, hurrying to join them. Gatomon sighed, following her partner despite her own misgivings. It only took those two to get the rest of the younger digidestined to follow after Davis and Veemon. Sora folded her arms in thought, unable to ignore the similarity Davis shared with Tamer just a few moments ago - held in suspicion by the ones who were supposed to be his friends but trying to do the right thing. She only snapped out of these thoughts when Biyomon asked, "You alright, Sora?"

"Yeah…just…thinking," Sora nodded, realizing that Tamer had been going through her thoughts a lot lately. They needed his help to stop Myotismon's return, and the fact that he was walking around their school living a normal life bothered her. That's what it was. That's what it had to be. And the first thing she'd do once Tamer was back to normal would be to punch him in his face for leaving them on their own again. How dare he just live a normal life and go on dates with Davis's older sister while the rest of them had to protect the Digital World without a clue of what they were doing.

Even Matt seemed worried for her and asked her, "What's eating at you?"

"Just déjà vu," Sora nodded quietly, "Like watching a younger us but it was Davis getting crap and not Tamer."

"You noticed it too, huh? Yeah he would pick a carbon copy of himself," Matt smiled stupidly, "Kinda makes me feel like a dick. Then again, Tamer actually did give us the run around for a long time, so it's kinda hard to be sympathetic."

"But Davis isn't Tai," Sora pointed out, until Matt corrected himself, "I meant it's hard to be sympathetic to Tamer."

"You're right though. This is kind of like what happened with DemiDevimon," Biyomon reminded them, "The digimon were all played against each other and they fought themselves."

"But Sora saw it too, this time," Matt folded his arms, looking at her as she hung her head, "But what I saw doesn't seem like the kind of thing Davis would do."

"We didn't think Tamer would openly attack us until he did," Matt pointed out. Sora didn't agree with that sentiment but was unable to bring herself to say it in front of Matt. He was right in his own way, Tamer had lied to them and misled them. But she couldn't be mad about it. Not when she knew that he was what Tai became. Not when she could only see the best friend who disappeared years ago.

Matt took her hand and said, "We should go help. Come on Sora."

"Oh, right," Sora nodded in agreement, completely unaware of the looks the other digidestined were giving them.

* * *

The wooden dam just outside the village was one of the few structures that managed to escape the rampage of Kimeramon. However, it survived only because it hadn't been directly in its path of destruction. This was a small relief since the large body of water behind it would've easily flooded the village by the coast and swept it away. To be sure it stayed that way, several Agumon and Gekomon were stationed there to make sure no one tried to take it down. The Emperor may have abdicated his position, but that didn't mean there weren't digimon still under the control of the control spire or the dark rings.

So when the Golemon attacked, their first objective was to destroy any dark rings on its body. But no matter where they looked, they couldn't find a single dark ring anywhere. Which meant it was one of the few digimon out there loyal to the Emperor after his fall. So that meant they had to put it down. It was only a champion, which meant it was stronger but they had the numbers to more than make up for it. With coordination or teamwork, this should have been easy pickings.

At a distance, they hammered into it with balls of fire and blasts of sound. But it brushed the attacks aside and pressed on towards the dam. The first line of defenders rushed at him with spears, clubs, claws and teeth only to be slaughtered whole sale. The second and third line retreated away as the first line shattered, killed by Golemon's rampage or scattering away to safety. A few of them from the second line broke away to run to the village for help while the remaining digimon tried to slow Golemon's advance. They already knew they weren't going to stop this digimon on their own - they would need the digidestined to win and buy enough time for them to get there.

"Gold Rush!"

"Rosetta Stone!"

"Flame Fist!"

"Tempest Wing!"

The four attacks sped out of the forest - a swarm of missiles, stone, and fire flew at the Golemon. It seemed to explode, vanishing into smoke and fire that exploded all around it. The guards cheered excitedly at first, until the smoke cleared and they saw that the Golemon was still unharmed. The cheers fell silent and Golemon growled in anger - stopping his advance to face the digidestined.

The digidestined's partners rushed into the field to surround Golemon, giving it no room to flee or to continue its rampage and holding it there until the digidestined arrived. It only took one glance for Cody to notice the obvious, "Look! There's no dark ring."

Kari gasped, "But if he's not under control then…why are you doing this Golemon? Ken's not the Emperor anymore!"

Golemon responded by throwing the biggest stone it could find at her. Kari ducked to avoid it, shocked as she felt it graze past her hair as it did. Davis snapped in anger, "That's it! Show him who's boss Flamedramon!"

"Fire Rocket!" Flamedramon lit up with fire and leapt straight at Golemon, slamming into him full force and knocking it onto the ground, "That was a warning! Don't do it agai-ack!"

Golemon grabbed Flamedramon by the neck and proceeded to slam him against the ground in a rage, beating the digimon with enough force to regress him back to Veemon. With its free hand, Golemon picked itself back up and growled at them in rage and furor. Davis took a step towards his partner but was stopped by Yolei, "Don't be stupid! Halsemon! Save Veemon!"

"We have got to start charging for every time we save him," Halsemon frowned, circling in the air and diving down towards the golem. To distract Golemon's attention away from the bird, Digmon fired a volley of rockets at him from above, "Take this! Gold Rush!"

Golemon threw Veemon away, freeing both arms to defend himself from the barrage of rockets. Halsemon adjusted his trajectory and caught Veemon in the air, adjusting so that the little digimon didn't roll off and continuing on back to the digidestined. Veemon eyes spun in his head, dazed and confused about what happened and barely able to stand. Davis kneeled down to catch his partner before he collapsed, "Are you alright, Veemon?"

"Shure thing coach! I'll get back in the game once everyone shtopsh dancing," Veemon answered, still in a daze. Yolei cheekily commented, "At least you can't kill this digimon."

"Killing it seems like a good idea right now, to be honest," Matt said, arriving with the rest of the older digidestined. Nefertimon resorted to slamming into Golemon at full speed to push it away from the dam but Golemon countered by flipping her over his head and slamming her. The feline digimon recoiled in pain, cringing while Golemon made his way on to the dam.

Biyomon snapped, "Gah, I hate just sitting back and doing nothing. Spiral Twister!"

Biyomon flew up and joined the attack against Golemon, knowing she was outclassed but still fighting anyway. Sora called out to her partner to stop her but was too late to keep her from going anyway. Biyomon created a green spiral of wind that tried to push Golemon away but seemed to annoy him more than hurt him. Inspired by her, the other digimon rushed in to help even though they couldn't digivolve.

"Blue Blaster!"

"Electroshocker!"

"Poison Ivy!"

"Marching Fishes!"

The attacks hit their mark but Golemon was unfazed, reacting by snatching Biyomon out of the air and using her to club the other digimon away. Digmon rushed the powerful champion, tackling it to the ground and pinning it there, so that Halsemon could swoop in again to collect the rookie digimon before they got into more danger. Unfortunately for Digmon, Golemon was able to overpower him and kick him back.

Digmon slid away, digging his drills into the ground to keep from sliding further back and faced the attacker. Golemon was already on his feet, running at Digmon with his large arm pulled back to punch Digmon square in the head. The blow created a sickening crunch that threw Digmon back several feet on his back. He tried to get up but Golemon was on him again, beating him as hard as he could with his fists until Halsemon rammed him from the side to knock him away. By that time, it was clear that Digmon had regressed back to Armadillomon and lay unconscious on the ground.

Halsemon positioned himself to keep himself between Golemon and the others, as the last digimon still standing. Matt frowned, "Now would be a good time to kill it Yolei."

"What? We can't kill Golemon!" Yolei argued back. Davis added, "If you have a better idea, we'd like to hear it."

"I…don't," Yolei fell silent, "But…this isn't right! If we kill, then we're no better than what the Digimon Emperor was doing...and I'm not going to be like Davis "

"But Halsemon is the only one still standing!" Kari reasoned. Yolei stuttered, "Then Davis and Veemon, then. They've killed digimon before."

"What!?" Davis groaned in anger, "We didn't kill a digimon! I mean…not a real one."

Yolei started, "Oh, so now you have a problem with killing digimon!?"

"We don't have time for this," Sora shouted to stop their argument. She'd seen what this dysfunction could do before and refused to let it happen again, "Yolei…Halsemon is the only digimon still standing. You have to stop Golemon before the dam gets destroyed!"

Yolei shook, watching Golemon brush the digidestined off and continue towards the dam. The few remaining guard digimon hurried to its defense, doing whatever they could to stop it on their own. Halsemon rushed in to fight it and came aglow with light, regressing back into Hawkmon. The red bird stumbled in surprise and looked down at his body, "Good heavens. I'm Hawkmon, again. What happened?"

"I can't do it," Yolei stammered at the digidestined, "Don't put that on me."

"Yolei, you don't have to kill Golemon," Sora explained, "But you do have to stop it. Can you do that?"

Seeing Golemon rampage his way towards the dam, Yolei understood that there was only one way this could play out. And there was no way for her to reconcile what she had to do. Yes, they'd killed Kimeramon and Cherubimon - but Kimeramon was a mindless, rampaging monster while Cherubimon had been malevolent for a long time. Golemon was trying to destroy the dam, sure, but it was neither mindless nor malevolent. It wouldn't attack the dam for no reason. And if they killed it, it risked them going down a dangerous slope that would lead to them becoming like the Emperor.

"Yolei, I thought we were already past this," Hawkmon said to her, "We can't falter when we're needed, or it puts others in more danger. I need you to help me fight back!"

"But I can't, Hawkmon. This isn't right," Yolei mumbled. Hawkmon added, "Yolei, they're counting on us."

Golemon was at the base of the dam now, and already ripping out logs and stone to weaken its support structure. The dam began creaking and groaning as its base began to fall apart. Golemon only stopped when Stingmon emerged from the trees to slice away at one of Golemon's arms, "Spiking Strike!"

Golemon moved out of harm's way in time, growling at Stingmon for daring to lay a finger on him. The two digimon sparred with each other, neither willing to give an inch to the other in their tense battle. Stingmon's skill more than made up for Golemon's strength and neither was able to gain an advantage over the other. It was only when Ken appeared from the woods behind Stingmon that the battle turned in his favor. Starting at a run, Ken dropped to a slide just as Golemon noticed him and slid between his legs. Golemon took his attention away from Stingmon to watch for what Ken was doing, leaving him open to be lifted into the air by Stingmon. Once he was several feet up, Stingmon dropped the giant golem so that his own weight would hurt him when he hit the ground. Golemon hit the ground so hard the digidestined felt the ground shake beneath their feet. Now that he was disoriented and in pain, Ken was free to run towards the digidestined who were shocked to see either of them.

"Is that Ken?" Cody asked.

"HEY KEN!" Davis greeted him with a friendly wave that none of the others felt compelled to share. However, Kari did note, "He looks happier."

Ken ignored their call and slid to a stop short of Yolei, "You…um…Yolei, right? I need your help!"

"Wait, me?" Yolei stammered, more confused and surprised at the sudden turn of events. As if the pressure of having to do something she wasn't okay with wasn't enough, now Ken Ichijouji was here asking for her help. Before she knew he was the Emperor, she would've gladly helped him with anything he asked. However, after everything that happened - she wasn't sure how to react to him. Then again, he had helped them get to America so she at least owed him the benefit of the doubt on this, "Why me?"

Before she could give it any further consideration, Ken took her hand in his and pulled her towards Golemon. Hawkmon had seen this before and ran after them, worried that Ken might try to put his partner in harm's way again. Yolei tried her hardest to not go bright red at the idea of Ken holding her hand, barely register a word of his explanation, "Well, it's more that I need your partner's help. Hawkmon is the only one still standing which means he can digivolve and help Stingmon put down Golemon. Stingmon's strong, but his strength lies in his speed over brute force. But if we work together, we can compensate for each other's limitations. Together we can kill Golemon!"

"What? Kill! No, I can't kill another digimon!" Yolei pointed out, pulling her hand out of his. Ken looked back to see her and understood her worries right away. Of course, the concern turned to confusion when he said, "That's alright. It's not real anyway."

"What are you talking about?" Hawkmon asked just as the other digidestined joined them. Ken pointed at Golemon and went on, "He's fake. He's not real. I'm not quite sure how yet, but there's another…I want to say digimon but I'm not sure what she is. Anyway, she turned one of… _my_ control spires into Golemon."

"How do we know you're not just making that up?" Cody asked suspiciously, only for Davis to counter, "No, that makes sense! It's like that Minotarumon that attacked me and Veemon! When ExVeemon punched its face, there was this hard stuff under its face. That must have been the control spire!"

"I know the Digital World never really makes a lot of sense from time to time but it at least follows some consistent rules," Joe said calmly to the others, "Something like that isn't outside the realm of possibility."

"Can we debate this after we kill Golemon?" Ken asked quietly, pointing out that Golemon managed to push Stingmon all the way back to the dam, "I don't want to put anyone on the spot but it is now or never here. If we don't stop it, it will flood the village."

This should have been simple, they just had to stop it. As long as she didn't try to kill Golemon, everything would be fine. That's what she told herself - as long as she didn't push too far, things would be fine. Still, she hesitated and Ken saw it plain on her face. He heaved a sigh as he realized he and Stingmon would have to be on their own, as they always had. He turned on his heel and ran towards Golemon who was halfway up the dam now, "Hey Golemon! Look at me!"

As he ran, he spotted a loose rock on the ground. Using his skills at soccer, Ken kicked it as hard as he could and watched it pelt Golemon in the back of the head. The large digimon grunted, turning back to see Ken standing there, "Digimon Emperor! Right here! Come and get a piece!"

Golemon growled and leapt off the dam to attack Ken. Ken saw it coming and leapt out of the way so that Golemon could drive itself into the ground. Stingmon saw his opening and attacked the digimon from behind, pushing it hard into the ground and leaving it there. Davis growled, lowering Veemon to the ground and stomping his foot, "I can't stand sitting on my butt like this! I'm gonna help!"

"Davis! Wait!" Kari reached out to stop him, but he was already at Ken's side, "HEY! Over here! Pick on someone else!"

Golemon turned on Davis with a growl and raised up his fist to strike the digidestined. Davis moved out of the way of its fist in time for it to smash the ground. Ken joined him and demanded, "What the hell were you thinking?"

"What? I'm not going to sit back while someone else is in danger dude!" Davis explained to Ken, "So what's the plan here?"

"The plan was to have two of our digimon try to overwhelm Golemon. Now the plan is to just pull a Tamer and wing it," Ken grunted. Unfortunately for both boys, both of them realized one second too late that Golemon was charging at them. Almost instinctively, Davis pushed Ken aside only to be thrown back by Golemon at full force. Davis flew through the air, spinning wildly and screaming as he arched higher up. Stingmon went to catch him, only to be snatched by Golemon before he could get off the ground and being thrown in the other direction.

Joe pointed at him, "At that height, the fall will kill him!"

"It's not the fall, it's the sudden stop," Izzy corrected him. Hawkmon spread his wings, "I'll catch him!"

"The amount of lift you produce won't keep you both in the air!" Izzy said quickly. Hawkmon looked back, "I still have to try!"

Yolei's heart sank. Her hesitation had put someone else in danger. Again. She couldn't sit still at her failure and gripped her digivice in her hand, shaking in frustration at her failure. She wanted nothing more than for Hawkmon to save Davis - to make up for her mistake. She felt an energy well up inside her that burst forth from her digivice as it whistled and hummed to life. It exploded with light that wrapped around her partner, "Hawkmon! Digivolve to! Aquilamon!"

Hawkmon emerged from the light the size of car, with fierce eyes and razor sharp feathers along his body. Of note were the large horns on his head that curved forward like a bull. Aquilamon zipped into the air so fast that it was like watching a jet. With his talons, Aquilamon caught Davis in the air and spun back around to bring him to the ground slowly. Davis hobbled slightly, before tripping into Kari's arms where she scolded him, "Don't ever do anything that reckless again!"

"I'm fine. Also, I think I got punched all the way to heaven because there are two Karis now," Davis answered to her rolled eyes. The older digidestined looked on in awe, well aware of the implication of Hawkmon's digivolution but still weary of believing that Golemon was a control spire in disguise. Still, Aquilamon wasn't going to waste the opportunity of his new found strength and raced to help Stingmon take Golemon down. Golemon roared as the two digimon raced towards him, positioning themselves so that they'd hit him from both sides. Ken commanded, "Aquilamon! Stay on the opposite side of Stingmon! Keep Golemon distracted and use hit and run attacks! On my signal, follow Stingmon's lead!"

"Okay, what's happening here?" Aquilamon asked. Stingmon moved to keep himself on the other side of Golemon and explained, "Ken has a plan. He always has a plan. Whether or not it works is another story."

"Yeah, that makes me feel better," Aquilamon frowned, following Stingmon's lead. It was a strange sight to see Aquilamon taking orders from Stingmon but if it meant stopping Golemon, then so be it. Ken picked up one of the Gekomon's spears from the ground and raced towards the champion digimon, taking advantage of its confusion. With all his might, he threw it as hard as he could into Golemon's chest. The spear hit its mark, not quite impaling the digimon but hurting it enough to get its attention. Then Ken used his digivice to flash a bright light in its eyes. The champion howled in pain, covering its eyes to protect itself while Ken shouted, "Now!"

Stingmon grabbed hold of the spear and used it to skewer Golemon further. When it broke through its hide, the rocks chipped away to reveal a black metal underneath. Stingmon motioned for Aquilamon to grab the rock digimon from behind and he happily obliged. Together, the two carried the digimon high into the air as it flailed between them. Once it was high enough, Stingmon released the spear and looked to Aquilamon to do the same. Golemon fell, screaming and growling until it hit the ground so hard that it kicked up another dust cloud that drove the spear further in. More of its rock hide fell away to expose black metal underneath.

Now that the others could clearly see it, Davis pointed at it and shouted, "That's it! That's what I saw!"

"So it was fake?" Cody said in surprise.

"It's not a real digimon," Yolei said, "Which means..."

"Which means I can do this!" Aquilamon spread out its wings, "Blast Rings!"

Red light shout out of its horns and formed a ring that struck the exposed black metal under Golemon's skin. The metal cracked, then shattered into thousands of tiny pieces before Golemon vanished. All that remained was a thin wisp of black smoke that faded into nothing. The digidestined cheered briefly while Ken fell back onto ground beside his partner, "I only missed a few days. I didn't think I'd be out of shape already."

"You just need to get back in there," Stingmon assures him. Aquilamon landed to rejoin his partner while the digidestined celebrated his digivolution. The mood was only soured when the Gekomon and Agumon surrounded him, "Emperor! You and your partner have a lot of nerve to show yourselves here."

"You're welcome," Ken replied sarcastically, while the digidestined came to join his side. He gulped when he saw them join the weary guards but offered a smile anyway. For whatever reason, the older digidestined stayed off to the side while Davis actively joined him and Stingmon in the middle, "Put those spears down before you hurt someone!"

"Are you kidding? How did he know about the spire digimon!? How do we know he didn't make it!? And how do we know this isn't some kind of trick!?" An Agumon growled, "I'm not listening to a word he says!"

Davis flocked his tongue disapprovingly but was aware there was nothing he could do to change their minds. And the looks the others were giving him and Veemon weren't helping either. The goggle head looked over his shoulder at Ken and nodded, "I'll vouch for him."


	28. The Fall of The Network

The guards only lowered their spears because Davis made a point they couldn't protest, "Seriously. These guys just helped save the village and this is how you say thanks?"

Although the tension was far from gone, Davis turned to Ken with a smile, "Since they won't say it, I will. Thanks for helping us out! We would've been goners if you hadn't shown up!"

"But why did you help us?" Cody's eyes narrowed, "And how did you know that Golemon was a fake?"

Ken looked around quietly, staring at each of them and meeting their gaze stoically. Stingmon nudged his partner and Ken nodded, "I'll tell you. But not here. It's not safe. Take me to ShogunGekomon's palace. It'll be safer there."

"Okay, I'm sick of this ominous bull shit," Matt marched up to Ken and lifted him up off the ground by his collar, "I was sick of taking it from Tamer. I'm not taking it from you. What the hell is going on?"

"For the holder of the Crest of Friendship, you're not really friendly," Ken commented, slapping Matt's hands away, "I already said I'd tell you everything. Besides, I'm not the biggest fan of The Digimon Tamer either so anything I can do to spite him is a good idea in my book."

Matt stepped back to his partner's side. The digimon were now stirring from their unconscious state, looking around in the confusion and certain that the fight was still going. They all jumped to their feet on seeing Ken, "The Emperor's here!"

They rushed him, and Stingmon moved to protect his partner. The guards once again raised their spears in preparation of a fight. Thankfully, Davis was able to stop any more fighting by stepping between the two groups to shout, "It's all right! He's with us!"

Everyone calmed down but there was still an uneasy air about them, and they agreed to return to ShogunGekomon's palace to actually talk about Ken's information since he refused to say another word until they were somewhere safer. This didn't stop the guards from whispering about keeping an eye on him in case he tried to do anything to their lord.

To say Ken's return to the village was unwelcome was an understatement. The digimon both inside and outside the village walls booed Ken and some took the time to throw stones at him. Stingmon shielded his partner from the blows while Davis and Veemon both snapped at the digimon trying to harm him. The guards were disinterested in protecting Ken, and some smiled as the passing digimon grew angrier at seeing him. And the anger shifted to the digidestined when Davis and Veemon actually started walking beside him - daring the passing digimon to challenge them instead. It was easy to understand their anger. The Digimon Emperor, the cause of all their problems was right here in front of them and the digidestined were protecting him. Who were they to deny the digimon their justice?

The mood followed them all the way into ShogunGekomon's throne room where he became enraged on seeing the Emperor standing in his hall. Wizardmon, Ogremon, and Andromon were also just as surprised to see the former Emperor and Stingmon standing in this room without some kind of restraint. The normally orange toad turned a shade of red so deep that it looked almost black, "WHAT IN THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, BRINGING THE DIGIMON EMPEROR INTO MY THRONE ROOM!?"

Davis once again came to Ken's defense by explaining, "He just helped us save the dam and protect the village from Golemon. I think we should hear whatever he has to say!"

"Oh, he saved our village, hm? Was that before or after he unleashed that monstrosity that burnt half of it to the ground?" ShogunGekomon roared, "No wait, I know! It was when he brought an army to my gate! I should throw you in a cell with Starmon and be done with it!"

Davis cowed under ShogunGekomon's booming voice but Sora was less intimidated, "He could know where Agumon is. That's all the reason we need to listen to him!"

ShogunGekomon's mood calmed upon hearing that point and he looked at the Emperor disdainfully. That point was true. He could know where Agumon was, but that didn't mean he wanted him in this room in the first place, "Why are you here, anyway?"

"This was the safest place I could think of," Ken stated, "No one who ever spied for me when I was Emperor was able to breach this room and no one who guarded this chamber was ever sympathetic towards me."

"I would disagree with that sentiment," Wizardmon folded his arms, "Starmon was very sympathetic towards what he called the order you were bringing. Although he likely would never have allied himself with you."

Ken clicked his tongue, closed his eyes, pocketed his hands, and took a deep breath. He anticipated this hostility from them and was prepared for it. He just needed a moment to calm his thoughts before he replied. After a moment, he stated, "You have no reason to trust or listen to me. I get it. To be honest, I don't expect to be forgiven for anything I've done. I'm just trying to make it right. For the record, that doesn't mean I'm joining you guys. We just happen to have a common goal right now."

"Can we hurry up and get to the point?" Matt started tapping his foot impatiently. Ken ignored the interruption and continued, "There's a woman with silver hair. Her name is Arukenimon which makes me think she's a digimon of some kind, but her appearance is more human than most. I overheard her talking to someone but never saw who. I do know she's the one who turned the control spire into that Golemon. And she turned another one into the Minotarumon that attacked you Davis. If I had to guess, her goal is to try and turn digimon against you by making it seem like you're attacking innocent digimon. As well as to cause some kind of internal conflict within you. As an aside, it'd be brilliant if I hadn't walked by and overheard it."

"Okay, let's assume any of this is true," Sora started disbelievingly, "Why? What do they gain by making the digimon here dislike us?"

"Do I look like the Digimon Tamer?" Ken asked back, "I am not the person to be asking that question. The person you should be asking that question to is The Digimon Tamer. And if I remember what you guys said, he's hanging out at your school pretending to be a student. Go ask him."

"Oh yeah, we figured that part out," Davis stated matter of factly, "It turns out he's just doing a...thing...what was it called again?"

"Davis, don't tell him that," Izzy stated while Tentomon covered the goggle head's mouth, "We still don't know if we can trust him."

Ken sighed in frustration while Yolei went to look the boy in the eye. Ken grew nervous, recalling the beating TK had given him and wondering if Yolei was contemplating the same. He would deserve it after what he did to her - taking her hostage and leaving her for dead. Her eyes narrowed and Ken retrieved his Emperor's goggles from his pocket. It only took a second but he quickly fashioned them over his own eyes so that he wouldn't have to look into Yolei's eyes. Of course she had to ask, "Why are you wearing those goggles?"

"It was to mock Tamer," Ken answered spitefully, "Everything about my attire as the Emperor was meant to mock The Digimon Tamer."

"I meant right now," Yolei responded, "Also, that doesn't explain why you wore a wig that looked like your brother's hair."

"That was," Ken paused and mumbled his next choice of words, "Personal issues. I don't want to talk about it."

"Is that why you tried to bring your brother back?" Yolei asked curiously. Ken looked away, no intention of hiding from his shameful actions, "I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I'd be tempted to try again if the opportunity presented itself. But I don't think I can go through losing him again, either."

"Yolei, what's he talking about?" Gomamon asked. Yolei waved it off but Ken answered for him, "I'm not going to deny it. Any of it."

He faced the digidestined and ShogunGekomon everything. Everything about his brother's death, meeting the Digimon Tamer, being stuck in the Digital World, meeting Ryo, stopping Apocalymon, learning the truth about Tamer while Ryo was lost to who knows where, and everything Ken did to make right what Tamer allowed to go wrong. Even when it meant taking a darker road. He finished by stating, "The Tamer...he always went on about destiny but it always seemed like it was just an excuse to let the bad things happen. But anything I did to reverse it...made it worse. I tried to bring order to chaotic world and brought more ruin than there was before. I killed my brother twice. I created an unholy abomination. Not to mention what I did to Agumon. What did it get me? Nothing. So I'm not going to fight destiny any more. What's the point? That doesn't mean I want to be part of your…team. Right now, I just want to make up for the mistakes I've made. Like I keep telling you."

ShogunGekomon heaved a sigh, obviously still furious that the Digimon Emperor was in his throne room. However, the Emperor admitted that he'd been wrong which was a brave admission on his part. Most wouldn't ever accept that possibility. He raised an eyebrow, "There's one thing you can do to earn my trust in this scenario. That spy of yours. Where is he?"

"You mean in the village? I thought he was kind of obvious," Ken stated quietly, "I mean, it's not like he was sneaky or anything. In fact, he was so obvious that even I didn't trust him or her half the time. It felt like they were only ever in anything for the profit if I'm being totally honest."

"What do you mean him or her?" Gatomon asked this time. Ken shrugged sheepishly, "I know people say I'm smart, but I have no clue what Digitamamon's gender is. So...my mistake."

"DIGITAMAMON!?"

The shock and silence that fell over the entire room was deafening in its own way.

* * *

The boos and jeers returned in full force as the younger digidestined marched to Digitamamon's restaurant with an escort of guards consisting of Agumon and Gekomon. The older digidestined stayed behind to talk amongst themselves about what the next move should be. The chaos that erupted when they marched into Digitamamon's restaurant was unprecedented. Digimon gasped and moved out of the way as the guards made their way to the register, while others fled before anything happened. Vegiemon leaned away from them as several other guards their way into the kitchen in the back. Vegiemon sweated more furiously when he saw Ken standing with the digidestined, "Where's Digitamamon?"

"He's not in today," Vegiemon stated flatly, "He's…not feeling well."

"I doubt it," Ken said, "Digitamamon's not the kind to pass up a profit. He'll do anything for money. Where is he?"

"I don't…talk to the Emperor," Vegiemon looked away nervously, just as the kitchen doors slammed open. The guards piled out with Digitamamon chasing them, "Who the hell are you to come barging into my shop!?"

"Stop it Digitamamon," Ken shouted at the egg digimon as it came out of the shop, "It's over. Sorry but I'm selling you. Admit what you've done."

"Selling me out? Trading me in for yourself? Is that it? Let me guess: you're trying to earn some favor with the digidestined now that you're all washed up?" Digitamamon stated bitterly, "Maybe get off free by selling me out? Well, sorry to burst your bubble but that isn't how it works."

"So you were spying for him!" Gatomon pointed a claw angrily. Digitamamon laughed at the declaration, almost amused by her statement, "Me? Spying for him? You've gotta be kidding me! I don't take sides, kids. I play the field."

"What, like that soccer game Davis is always goin' on about?" Armadillomon asked. Digitamamon laughed, "Let me tell you how supply and demand works. I supply food and the hungry digimon demand to be fed. As it turns out guards and soldiers demand more food. As do hungry villagers. So if the Digimon Emperor were to create more problems like he's prone to, well that drives up demand from the guards who have to fight him and creates more displaced digimon who need food. Profit margins go up!"

"That's awful. You spied just to make a quick buck?" Cody hissed angrily. Digitamamon laughed, "Spied? I'd hardly call listening to some drunk digimon spying! Hell. if anything I was doing what was necessary to preserve my business. Not that you kids would understand, it's not like anyone understands the prospect of business. Hell, Tamer just came and left a damn egg with me for months! Like I have time to look after an egg."

"You realize you just admitted to treason!" one of the Gekomon said, taking hold of Digitamamon's leg, "We'll be taking you in!"

"Go ahead if you think you really can. Last I checked, I was the only one in town with a readily available supply of food and the only restaurant that didn't get destroyed when Kimeramon rampaged! Just who will run the only restaurant in town once I'm gone?"

"We'll be closing the restaurant and seizing the food!" one of the Agumon declared, using a rope to tie up Digitamamon, not that he had arms that needed restraining. One of the patrons in the restaurant shouted, "What about us!? We all know the guards are the ones stealing food, leaving the rest of us to fight over the scraps!"

A few more digimon looked to the digidestined, "What about you guys! Are you just going to let them do this? We need that food too!"

"That's...um...not for us to decide," Cody answered sheepishly. That answer did nothing to placate the angry digimon and Ken looked to Davis, "Would you care to play the peace maker here?"

"Yeah, I've been knocked around enough today," Davis shook his head, "This is all yours, Ken."

"You've had the best luck making peace so far," Ken countered, putting Davis on the stop. He swallowed a lump in his throat and stepped into the middle of the group, "Hey, guys, let's not fight over this. What good is going to come over fighting now? We have other problems to worry about."

"Easy for you to say! You guys leave and probably go to your world where there's a lot of food! You probably haven't gone hungry for a day since any of this happened!" another digimon complained furiously. Davis remained firm, "We're not just going to look the other way while you guys tear each other apart for food!"

"What? Are you going to kill us too!?" another digimon growled, finally cowing Davis, "That's right! We all heard about the Minotarumon!"

"I have a proposition," Ken started until some of the digimon snapped, "No one cares what you think Emperor! Do us all a favor and shut the hell up!"

"Okay, I can tell this is going to be fun," Ken sighed, massaging his temple, "Look, how about instead of fighting over the food and just claiming it, how about you guys distribute it? That way, everyone get's a fair share and no one goes hungry."

"We're not listening to anything you have to say Emperor!" another digimon shouted angrily, "GET OUT OF OUR VILLAGE!"

"How about _we_ divide it then?" Yolei volunteered, to Hawkmon's dismay, "Us? Yolei, I don't think I can protect you from an angry mob."

"No, I meant all of us," Yolei said, looking to the rest of the digidestined. Cody glanced at Davis's direction and added, "As long as Davis doesn't have to do the math."

"We're not in school," Davis's response indicated that he'd completely missed the point of Cody's jab. Hawkmon beamed at his partner's idea, "Yolei! You're a genius, you know that? Huh, why didn't you get the DigiEgg of Knowledge? That seems more your thing."

* * *

The digidestined spent the rest of the afternoon distributing the supply in the restaurant to the digimon who came to visit, and even took the time to deliver the food to the digimon in the surrounding area. Once their work was done, they regrouped with the others in ShogunGekomon's palace. ShogunGekomon grumbled at the traitor being so obvious and hiding in plain sight at such a public place when none of the guards could catch him. Wizardmon cared little for this development and instead impatiently asked, "So...when do we venture to the Hollow Bastion? Where is it?"

"The Bastion? What do you want to do with that?" Ken asked incredulously. Armadillomon stated, "I s'pose there's no reason why we can't just tell 'em now. He handed ov'r the spy. And he helped us out with Golemon. I say we trust 'im."

"I don't know," Palmon folded her arms, "This could still be another trick. I mean, how do we know he didn't create the spire digimon?"

"Hell, can we just tell him already?" Davis asked, "It's not like he's going to turn on us after what happened last time!"

Against his better judgment, Andromon explained everything for the third time that day and Ken mulled it over, "Well...that would explain why Tamer is traipsing around like he's a normal human being. Hm...let me guess, you think if we go to the Hollow Bastion and examine the Network, we can use it find wherever Agumon went?"

"So can we?" Sora asked, going straight for the point, "The sooner we find Tai, the sooner we figure out this whole mess."

"It'd be another good step in the right direction, Ken," Stingmon stated plainly to his partner. Ken nodded, "Yeah. We can go tomorrow."

"Why don't we go now?" Kari asked impatiently, "We have to find Tai!"

"Who the hell is Tai?" Ken asked with a raised eyebrow. Gatomon answered for her partner, "It's a long story and I really don't want to be reminded of it."

"Well, to answer your question, it's getting late and we have to get back home to our respective families," Ken stated matter of factly, "We may be the ones chosen to save this world but we still have our own lives to live outside of the Digital World."

"Is it really that late?" Izzy checked his computer and frowned, "It's almost seven. Wow, it is late."

"Yeah, and it'sh shummer sho who caresh?" Veemon complained. Kari was going to agree but changed her mind, "It would be good to get some rest. Besides, TK will want to know about all this."

"Oh yeah," Matt ran a hand through his hair, embarrassed that he'd forgotten about his brother's punishment, "He's not going to like knowing what he missed. Then again, mom might not care about his opinion."

"But we'll go, right? First thing in the morning?" Kari asked excitedly, anxious for the chance to help out her brother. Unfortunately, Cody had to remind her of the obvious, "We still need to repair the damage we did to Primary Village."

"I think you mean the damage Cherubimon caushed," Veemon corrected.

"How about in the afternoon, then?" Kari asked excitedly. Ken sighed, "You really want to go, don't you? Tomorrow afternoon, after you're done with helping fix the Primary Village. Does that sound good?"

Kari's shoulders slumped and her eyes looked down. Veemon was quick to call him out, "Bow come you don't have to help?"

"Because I'm not allowed anywhere near there," Ken answered.

* * *

Oikawa tapped a finger on his desk impatiently, staring at the screen where Arukenimon leered back just as angrily. Oikawa grumbled, "You had one job and instead of distracting the digidestined or stopping Ichijouji, you decided to try and drown the village?"

"She must be punished!" his friend whispered into his ear, the noxious smell of his breath making Oikawa sick. Hiroki went on, "She is jeopardizing the plan! How else will you get to the Digital World!?"

Oikawa stopped tapping his finger there and eyed Arukenimon. He normally heeded Hiroki's advice but he ignored him this time, "What were you thinking?"

"You wanted me to distract them. I distracted them. I made my presence known and emphasized how dangerous I am," Arukenimon stated, "Who's more dangerous than the enemy you never meet?"

"So your plan is to make yourself mysterious? It sounds to me like they're facing a coward," Hiroki hissed angrily. Oikawa's expression remained unchanged, "So what's your plan going forward?"

"Oh, I'll harass them with increasing escalation. Since I'm not allowed to kill them, I'll just make their lives miserable and sow discord wherever I can," Arukenimon stated excitedly, "Since most still don't know what I can do, they'll think the digidestined have gone crazy. And no one will believe Ken Ichijouji after what he did as the Digimon Emperor. Spread discord, increased the terror and fear that grips the Digital World. As long as they don't know about you and all that fear is situated on me, no one will stop your plan and I get to do what I think we always should have done! If we play our cards right, we can also disrupt their team cohesion."

Oikawa nodded his head in solemn agreement, "You've given this considerable thought Arukenimon. I like this idea. You've outdone yourself."

"Thank you," Arukenimon bowed. Oikawa asked, "So, what's next?"

"My next plan is to keep them from finding The Digimon Tamer. I'll be heading to the Hollow Bastion. They'll likely go there to find clues," Arukenimon stated excitedly, "If they can't fix him, he can never be a threat to us."

"Carry on," Yukio smiled.

"You're a fool, Yukio," Hiroki hissed, before stepping back and fading away into obscurity. Oikawa closed his eyes and turned off the monitor of his computer. He felt exhaustion, yet he didn't dare sleep. Not out of inability but rather because of the horrible nightmares had started plaguing him of a terrible monster that gnawed at him each night, slowly eating a piece of him more and more until nothing was left. It always woke him up in a cold sweat. He wasn't sure when he'd last slept or dreamed but he'd slowly learned to go without more than a few hours of sleep at a time. He looked around the dark and empty room, wondering where Hiroki went when he wasn't here.

* * *

The digidestined spent the better part of the next day helping to clean Primary Village and repair the damage that reared itself after what happened. Ken and Stingmon came to join them but minded their distance, instead using the time to traverse File Island and knock down as many of the control spires as they could find. Smuggling TK was the hardest part of the entire adventure, since it required Matt playing interference while TK snuck out to school. Both Patamon and TK were glad to finally leave his room, even if it meant they were just working. Once they finished their work for the day, the digidestined met each other at one of the television monitors used as gates to travel between the Digital World. This time, Ken activated it by pointing his digivice at it and shouting, "DIGIPORT OPEN!"

The feeling was different from traveling between worlds, instead feeling more like stepping through a door. On the other side of that gate, they found themselves standing in a darkened field surrounded by fog. In the distance, atop an old crag sat a decrepit stone castle that belonged to Myotismon long ago. Time and the defeat of the Dark Masters had done little to make this place appear more welcoming. In fact, it seemed more intimidating now that Myotismon and the Dark Masters had vacated. As if to make it more imposing, control spires dotted landscape around them in all directions in a grim reminder of how much wrong Ken had done.

Davis felt a cold chill upon seeing such a sight and asked, "Does anyone else think this place is creepy?"

"Oh yeah, definitely," Armadillomon agreed earnestly, recalling how it looked when they first came to the Network, "I don't remember this place lookin' as creepy last time."

"That's because we didn't arrive outside last time," Wormmon explained to them. Cody grew suspicious upon learning this, "Why didn't we land inside?"

Ken closed his eyes, sighing and trying to maintain his calm, "Because last time, we weren't being attacked by a woman-digimon thing that could turn control spires into crazed digimon with only murder in their minds. The castle is old and I don't think it could take another fight inside of it. Before we go in, I want to destroy as many of these control spires as we can. And since your digimon are the only ones who can armor digivolve, that means you guys can destroy them. Since...y'know, Wormmon and I can't."

No sooner did he finish his sentence than they saw a lone female figure in the distance, a beautiful silver haired woman wearing a flowing red dress and a striped sunhat atop her head. She peered down at them through black spectacles, as if gauging them. Yolei pointed her out on seeing her, "Hey! Who's that old lady?"

"That would be Arukenimon," Ken replied coldly, not caring that she made an audible click with her tongue. In protest, she plucked a hair from her head and held it up above. It snapped straight, then zipped away towards the nearest control spire, "Spirit Needle!"

The hair rippled into the surface of the control spire, vanishing within and forcing the metal spire to contort and writhe. TK looked around at all the others and noted they were all staring in disbelief at the sight before, "Should we...do something about that?"

"We would, but Wormmon can't digivolve with all the control spires around," Ken replied. TK held out his digivice, "Alright, then let's get started! Ready Patamon!"

"I've been itching to get some exercise!" Patamon shouted, soaring into the air, "Patamon! Armor Digivolve to! Pegasusmon, Flying Hope!"

Not wanting to be outshone by TK, Davis pointed his digivice at his partner, "I'm not standing around either! Let's go Veemon!"

"Veemon! Armor Digivolve to! Raidramon, the Storm of Friendship!"

The two digimon charged towards the black pillar, just as it took its final shape and morphed into a tiny ball with large round eyes and tiny arms. Adorned on its forehead was a crooked golden lightning bolt that arced with electricity. The digimon rose upwards and zoomed towards Pegasusmon first. Its fist sparked and cracked with electrical currents, focusing into a ball that it drove into Pegasusmon's chest, "Thunder Ball!"

Pegasusmon groaned in pain as he was thrown back behind the digidestined. Kari gasped, "What kind of digimon is that?"

"Thundermon! He's a mutant digimon who's punch can channel over 10 million volts. That same electrical power can be used to accelerate his speed significantly!" Ken stated knowledgeably, "Raidramon is probably only digimon who can't be hurt by a charge of that magnitude since he uses electricity as well. But a punch at the speed of light is still a punch at the speed of light, even without the electrical current."

The silver haired woman continued towards the next control spire, preparing to do the same which the digidestined couldn't allow to happen. Together, the digidestined held out their digivices to help their partners digivolve.

"Hawkmon! Armor Digivolve to! Halsemon, the Wings of Love!"

"Armadillomon! Armor Digivolve to! Digmon, the Drill of Knowledge!"

"Gatomon! Armor Digivolve to! Nefertimon, the Angel of Light!"

Raidramon tried to fighting the smaller Thundermon but was simply outclassed because of that digimon's greater speed. Thankfully, this left the others free to destroy the remaining control spires before the lone woman had a chance to reach any of them. Arukenimon stopped once the last control spire crumbled to dust, clicking her tongue in disgust and turning away to leave. Upon seeing this, Nefertimon zipped towards her and shouted, "NO YOU DON'T!"

She tried to tackle the woman but was struck from the side by Thundermon zooming in at close speed, "THUNDER BALL!"

Nefertimon screeched in pain before regressing back to Gatomon, rolling along the ground to a stop. She steadied herself and looked at the both the flying ball and the woman angrily before collapsing from the pain. Arukenimon chuckled at her and continued onwards towards the castle. Ken and Wormmon gave chase, "She's getting away! We can't let her into the castle!"

"Why not?" Davis asked, just to hear him shout back, "Between the Ancient technology and The Network? Who knows what she'll do if she gets her hands on any of it! We have to stop her!"

"But why did she wait until now?" TK asked, thinking something was wrong, "We were gone for almost a whole day! Why not just go there now?"

"She probably had to walk," Halsemon thought aloud, receiving nods from the others in agreement, "I mean, we have the gates and the digivices to go back and forth between worlds. If she could do that, wouldn't she have done it already?"

"But that doesn't make sense! She showed up in my bedroom...not that long...ago," Ken slowed his talking as if a horrible realization dawned upon him. He looked over at the other digidestined with wide eyes, "We're either walking into a trap or she's creating a distraction."

"Distraction from what?" Raidramon grunted, now turning to join them since Thundermon was distracted by the other digimon - Halsemon, and Digmon. Ken slid to a stop in front of the others and produced his digivice, "We're going to have to take a shortcut and-"

"KEN! LOOK OUT!" Cody shouted from behind them. They all turned around too slowly to see it happen. Thundermon zoomed in from behind and slammed into Ken's back so hard that he flew forward, knocking his digivice out of his hand and throwing him to the ground with enough force to knock him out cold. Wormmon gasped and leapt to protect him, "Leave Ken alone!"

Thundermon changed his target to Wormmon, charging the little bug digimon until Raidramon jumped between the two to protect the small rookie. Thundermon changed direction and darted around Raidramon faster than he could correct, resulting in Wormmon being separated from Ken by a sharp blow to the back. Thundermon made something resembling a cackling noise and buzzed back to fighting the others, which left Davis and Raidramon free to check on the injured partners. Wormmon was already recovering, while Ken lay on the ground. He wasn't a medic, or a doctor, or anything like Joe, though so he had no idea if he was even alive or not.

"We need to finish this so we can get Ken to a doctor!" Davis shouted at Raidramon. He nodded in agreement and charged to help the other digimon. In the mix of fighting, the other digidestined regrouped with Davis and Ken. Yolei was the one to kneel beside him, "Is he okay? What's wrong?"

"I don't know, he's out cold!" Davis said in a panic. Cody put a hand to his head and stated, "We have to take him back to Joe's! The rest of us should try to stop her from getting into the castle before she does whatever she's about to do!"

"That's not going to happen as long as Thundermon is zipping around out here!" TK pointed out nervously, "It took out Pegasusmon and Nefertimon in one go!"

Davis brushed his thumb against his nose and grinned excitedly, "Don't worry. I got this Raidramon can-"

Before he even finished his sentence, his partner flew over their heads and crashed into the ground hard enough to regress back to Veemon. Davis gasped and returned to his partner's side, "Veemon! NO!"

"Anyone else have a good idea?" TK looked around for suggestions, "Thundermon's just too fast! None of our digimon can keep up!"

"What should we do?" Wormmon asked them nervously, "Usually, Ken was the one to come up with a plan. I don't know what to do without him!"

"I have an idea!" Digmon said, using his drills to dig a hole into the ground. In a matter of moments, he cleared a cavern for the digidestined and stated, "Here! Use this to keep clear while we-"

"THUNDER BOMB!" Thundermon appeared again from the side and knocked Digmon aside. Digmon rolled away, regressing to Armadillomon but still able to stand unlike the other digimon that Thundermon had hurt. Halsemon went to aid him but Yolei held him back, insisting that someone would have to transport Ken once they were sure Thundermon was destroyde and he was the only flying digimon still standing. This left Armadillomon on his own, struggling to stand while his body crackled with electricity.

* * *

Armadillomon's head spun and every muscle in his body twitched and spasmed in pain. Still, he stood upright and looked his opponent in the eye. He was the only one still standing which meant it was up to him to take down Thundermon. It wasn't all bad since the tingling pain only lasted a few moments at the time. Somewhere, Cody was shouting something at him but he couldn't make it out. He could only make out Thundermon rounding on the digidestined, no longer seeing him as a threat. He growled and ran so that he was positioned between Thundermon and the rest, "Don't think I'm outta the fight just yet! I'm still rarin' to go!"

Thundermon scoffed, yet charged him anyway like lightning. Armadillomon heard Cody shout his name, and there was a flash of light behind him. Deep within, an energy welled up in his gut and pumped through his body. It felt like he was on fire and he could feel his body changing with it. He opened his mouth to shout, "Armadillomon! Digivolve to! Ankylomon!"

He felt heavier, slower, but stronger. Thundermon slammed into him at full force, but he didn't even register the hit. Thundermon rolled back, dumbstruck to see the electrical currents around his body barely left an impact. Ankylomon used this opportunity to swing his tail around so hard that Thundermon flew away with a crack. The little ball flew some distance before correcting itself in the air to reveal that part of its face was chipped away to reveal the black remains of the control spire underneath. Thundermon growled and zipped towards Ankylomon, determined to repay the damage that it had been dealt. Ankylomon braced himself into the ground and timed his tail swing for the moment after Thundermon slammed into him, "Tail Hammer!"

Thundermon rolled into the ground. Ankylomon then raised himself up on his hind legs and fell onto the ball digimon with the full weight of his body, "Megaton Press!"

Thundermon barely had time to gasp before he disappeared under Ankylomon's weight. Ankylomon stood up, and checked to make sure Thundermon was defeated before turning to face the digidestined.

Yolei was already helping to load Ken onto Halsemon's back, asking thee rest of them to take care before they took off back for the Village. Once they were gone, TK suggested, "We oughta stay out here. Do you think you and Ankylomon will be fine on your own?"

"Yes, I think so. We should hurry to finish her off!" Cody nodded at his partner. The two of them hurried into the castle, desperate to stop Arukenimon. Unfortunately for the two of them, it didn't take long to get lost and confused in the winding mess of hallways and stairs. Eventually, they found a familiar hallway and followed it down the familiar path to the Network only to be find the room in a messy state.

Every single monitor was smashed and the computer that powered the whole thing was caved in from every side. Everything smoked and sparked with love electricity, the work of Arukenimon. It seemed she'd achieved what she was trying to do. Their one chance at finding the digivice to restore Kari's brother was gone, burned into smoke in a moment. Arukenimon was nowhere in sight, and there was no telling what else she was up to. The two searched the castle but found nothing. It seemed that Arukenimon had escaped in the confusion, leaving them lost and with no clue what to do next.

 


	29. Paildramon Rises

The mood in ShogunGekomon's palace was quiet and defeated. Ken had been brought into one of the bed rooms to recover while Joe did his best to help him. According to him, Ken would be fine as long as he had some time to rest and would wake up soon. His loyal bug digimon stayed by his side the entire time, so that Joe could rejoin the digidestined in the throne room where the atmosphere wasn't any better.

Wizardmon was particularly distraught by the knowledge that the Network had been destroyed. The gates that could go anywhere, the chance to see worlds never before dreamed of, and the knowledge that could be learned there - all gone. For the rest of the digidestined, it meant the loss of their one chance to find Agumon. Cody felt responsible for its destruction, certain that it could have been saved if he'd helped Armadillomon digivolve just one moment sooner. The rest of the group tried to consul him but he remained adamant that it was his fault they arrived too late.

It would be another whole day before Ken suddenly jolted awake in his bed, mouth dry but still able to scream, "WE HAVE TO STOP HER!"

Then he felt something hug him, "Ken! It's alright! Everything's okay!"

"Wormmon?" Ken looked at the little bug digimon with wide eyed shock, "What happened? Where are we?"

"ShogunGekomon's palace," Wormmon explained to his partner, fetching a glass of water for him, "The others stopped Thundermon, but Arukenimon destroyed the Network. We lost the way to find Agumon and The Tamer's digivice."

"We should have landed inside," Ken said quietly, guzzling the water down, "I was too cautious."

"You sound like Cody," Wormmon said sheepishly, "He's blaming himself right now, too. He thinks that he and Armadillomon should have been able to catch up to Arukenimon."

"He wouldn't have had to if I hadn't been involved at all. This is my fault," Ken stated meekly, "It's like I thought: destiny is not on my side."

"It was bad luck, Ken," Wormmon assured his partner, "Things like this happen. Please don't waste your breath on blaming yourself. It doesn't do any good."

"Yeah...yeah, you're right," Ken agreed solemnly, climbing out of his bed and taking a moment to steady himself. His head pounded and his body ached, but he could vaguely make out the darkened bedroom he was in, "How long have I been out?"

"Almost a whole day," Wormmon stated quietly, "The others kept you here over night so that your parents wouldn't worry, but Davis stayed and told your parents you were spending the night at his place. He left a little bit ago when the others came back."

Ken nodded his understanding and slowly rose off the bed. He was dizzy but able to stand, which was enough although Wormmon worried he would fall over. It took him a moment of walking, leaning against the wall to steady himself. He felt different but couldn't quite place why. His head was in too much of a fog. He shook it off and said, "If we lost the Network, we won't be able to track Agumon across the various worlds. There might be something else we can try, but it'll mean we'll have to go…back to that place."

Wormmon shook his head disapprovingly when he realized what his partner was talking about and tried to reason with him, "You don't mean the ship? Ken, you destroyed the ship when you activated the self destruct protocol. Remember?"

"I know. That's why we need someone who can swim _well_ ," Ken said, finally making his way out of the bedroom. It wasn't hard to find the throne room, where he was hoping the mood wouldn't be as sour as before but he remained sure that this wasn't going to be the case. And he was proven right when he walked in to the throne room to find himself hounded by the guards immediately. The guards pointed their sharp spears at him almost immediately, "Are we seriously doing this again?"

"Knock it off, guys," TK rolled his eyes disbelievingly, "We have other things to worry about right now."

The guards were slow to relax but Ken was just glad that they were at least leaving him alone now. Davis was the first one to meet him, "Glad to see you're up after what happened. How are you feeling, dude?"

"I've been better," Ken frowned, "Wormmon told me everything. Thanks for taking care of my parents for me."

"Don't mention it," Davis beamed proudly.

Sora went on to explain, "We're brainstorming what to do next. Davis and Veemon keep saying we just go out and search the entire Digital World. Even though it will take forever and we don't have that kind of time."

"How else are we going to find them besides just looking?" Davis asked seriously. Ken shook his head, still unsure how someone like Davis was able to beat him as Matt brought up his own idea, "And I've said we just go and force Tamer to remember already. Because I'm getting sick of this stupid game."

"That approach would lead to The Tamer's current personality rejecting his true identity. Forcing it would lead to the subconscious self-termination protocol in order to protect the Agent's secrecy," Andromon explained in his robotic voice, "Per protocol, all Ancient subconscious-"

"Stop and reexplain that without the big words," Davis interrupted angrily. Yolei groaned, "He's saying that if we push Taichi about it, he'll just deny it. Push him too hard and he'll kill himself because the Ancients were big into secrecy. Forgetting how badly that would screw us over for a second, imagine explaining to your sister that you drove her _boyfriend_ to kill himself!"

Ken noted that both Kari and Sora shifted uncomfortably at that word, Kari frowning while Sora looked away sheepishly. He looked at them with raised eyebrows, "What's with you two?"

Before either of them could answer, Matt grumbled, "Long story. She's his younger sister and she's his old best friend."

That new information took him off guard and he wasn't sure how to begin responding. But the one thing that made this all hard to process was Tamer, "I didn't think there were other Ancients. If I knew that, I wouldn't have-"

"No, we're not Ancients," Sora countered quickly, "We knew him…a long time ago when we were kids. Tamer isn't an Ancient. He's a human, like us. He just…forgot that."

"Uh…huh," Ken mumbled in confusion, trying to digest this new information. He thought grasping the near incomprehensible language of the Ancients was difficult, or attempting to create a new order in the Digital World. But this…just raised too many questions in his head and he wasn't sure how many more times he could handle having his entire world shaken, "Okay, I'm going to push past that new information real quick so that I can focus on literally anything else."

"Right, like figuring out how to find Agumon," Gomamon stated, "I don't get it though. Why wouldn't he just come back to us? We're literally in the safest place to be!"

"Probably because of something dumb," Gabumon pointed out, earning him a few laughs, "Like destiny said he can't. Or because the world will crumble if he joins us."

"Or because he knows something we don't," ShogunGekomon frowned, "And the guards around the village are not in a position to mount a proper defense against any more large scale attacks. They can barely maintain order, even with all your help to rebuild."

"On that, I think it'd make sense to start helping out in other parts of the Digital World," Sora suggested, "The Digimon Emperor did a lot and…oh, um…"

She paused as if she'd forgotten and just remembered Ken was standing there. Ken knew it would be awkward like this but did his best to brush past it, "It's alright. I know I did some bad stuff while I was Emperor. Look, I agree. I put up a lot of control spires around the Digital World and it's only a matter of time before Arukenimon starts creating more of those deranged digimon. The sooner we destroy them, the less ammo she'll have to throw at us."

"It'll have to be you guys who take care of that," Tentomon pointed at the newer digimon, "We can't digivolve as long as they're around."

"No shweat," Veemon nodded with a thumbs up, "Jusht leave it to ush!"

"Actually, I need to know if any of your digimon can go underwater," Ken stated quietly. When he saw the looks Cody and Gomamon gave him, he went on to add, "I think there might still be a way to find Agumon. We just need to get something from…the ship and hope that it still works."

"And what are we getting from the ship?" Cody asked with narrowed eyes so sharp that Ken felt like he was being interrogated. His trust was going to be something that would take a very long time to earn. Ken ignored the look for now, "I'm going to try and salvage a navigation computer. Those computers are capable of mapping the whole of reality and should have some maps of the Digital World and any worlds closely bordering it, which we can use in conjunction with a digivice to track down where Agumon is. Or, at the very least, where Tamer's digivice is."

"I like the sound of that idea, it's certainly better than Davis' search the Digital World endlessly plan," Izzy nodded quietly, "If it's alright, I'd like to come along on this venture."

"I don't think Submarimon has enough room in his cockpit," Cody offered sheepishly, "I can maybe fit one other person inside with me, but it'll be cramped."

"I'll go too, then," Gomamon said, "I'll just digivolve up and help carry whatever we're getting."

"So what are we waitin' for?" Armadillomon asked.

* * *

The space inside Submarimon's cabin was cramped with both Ken and Cody having to share the already tight space. Submarimon complained of every movement either one made and pleaded with them to stop squirming inside. Ikakumon floated along side them carefully. Although Cody hadn't said so, he was weary to spend more time than he had to around The Digimon Emperor even if he was on their side now and trying to help them. Especially now, he was more than uncomfortable in this cramped space and worried that the Emperor would try to choke him out at any moment.

Cody had no idea how far they'd descended before they finally found what they were looking for - the wreckage of the destroyed Ancient ship. It had been some time since it was blown apart by the self destruction, yet parts of it were still glowing from how hot the fires burned. Even now, at this impossibly cold depth they could see some parts still ablaze.

"How does fire burn underwater?" Submarimon's voice echoed inside the cockpit. Ken answered, "The power source of the Ancient tech is very volatile. I'm surprised the water isn't boiling with how hot it can burn although I imagine the water pressure at the depth we're at has a hand in it. Either way, don't get too close. The wreckage for the bridge of the ship should be in that direction."

Ken gestured away from the burning wreck and Cody maneuvered his partner towards another part of the burned ship. The heat twisted the metal frame of the ship and it reminded Cody of a giant hand reaching out to them. Still, he drove Submarimon into an opening in the frame, Ikakumon following close behind. The interior hallways weren't any better, more twisted and misshapen from the self destruction. The further they went, the more it spiraled and narrowed until eventually they weren't sure they could proceed. A few times, Cody wanted to use Submarimon to widen the path but Ken always reminded him that doing so may cause the structure to collapse under its own weight and bring it down on top of them.

Just as Cody couldn't take it anymore, they found what remained of the bridge. Most of the computers were destroyed from the self destruct process but there was one still unharmed in the far corner of the room. Whether or not it would work was another matter. Ikakumon unwedged the terminal from the wall and froze when they heard the whole ship groan in protest - fearful that the ship might collapse on top of them. When it passed, the two digimon guided it out of the ship and back up to shore. The whole time, Ken urged them to be careful with such delicate equipment despite Ikakumon pointed out that it was both blown up and underwater for weeks.

They reached the shore to find the rest of the digidestined waiting for them, along with Wizardmon and Andromon. Ken went about setting up the terminal in the sand while the other digidestined gathered around to watch. Andromon made suggestions while Izzy took notes on the work, with Ken typing expertly on the keyboard without hesitation. At least that was how it seemed. In truth, most of the symbols and characters he used to be able to recognize were just gibberish to him now. He was just glad that only Izzy was familiar to notice something was wrong and even gladder that he chose not to say anything about it. Matt looked over his work from the side, "Is this going to work?"

"I hope so," TK pocketed his hands. Patamon asked, "And if it doesn't?"

"Then we get to deal with Davis's sister and Kari's brother for a few more weeks," Gatomon replied dryly, "Speaking of which, how's your sister?"

"She never shtopsh talking about him," Veemon frowned. Ken grunted in annoyance, already having enough difficulty with the process, "Please, could I get some quiet?"

"Hey Ken. If you had this tech, why didn't you use it to find Tai before?" Kari asked curiously. Ken wondered when someone was going to ask about that, "I did. That's how I captured him the first time. But...now I'm not sure if he didn't just let me catch him. Looking back, it's hard to imagine that he wasn't already holding all the cards and that there wasn't a thing I did that he didn't want me to do."

"Yeah, we know the feeling," Matt commented bitterly, "How long will this take?"

Izzy sighed at Matt's impatience and mumbled, "It's ancient technology from a lost civilization Matt. It's not just going to do what we want."

"And it was at the bottom of the ocean! Who knows if it even works still," Yolei patted the top of the machine sadly, "Poor thing probably doesn't work as well as it could."

"Okay, we're there," Ken said as the program he was looking for came up. It displayed the strangest of images - a round globe that was certainly the Digital World but the masses on its surface were a confusing mess of lines and overlapping territories that made it near unrecognizable. With a few more button presses, the lines dispersed and the single globe multiplied rapidly. Each new world took some of the lines and boundaries with it, continuing exponentially until eventually the screen settled on a map of the Digital World. Ken explained, "I just loaded up the map of the Digital World, parallel versions of the Digital World, and other worlds that border this Digital World."

"Prodigious," Izzy said excitedly while Matt asked, "Great, so how do we use this to find Tamer's digivice?"

Ken held out his hand, "I need one of the newer digivices."

"Why do you want one of ours?" Cody crossed his arms, annoyed that Davis so willingly handed his over, "Don't break it, it's the only one I got."

"We all only have one," Sora pointed out. Ken inserted the digivice into a slot in the side before returning to the computer, "I'm going to use the Discover function on the digivice in conjunction with the maps on the nav computer. It will extend its effective range to other worlds - not just the Digital World."

"How did you learn to do all this?" Izzy asked excitedly, still taking notes on every keystroke Ken made and its effect on the computer. Without looking up, Ken explained, "Remember how I told you I spent a lot of time around Tamer when I was younger? Yeah, that's how. Even longer if you count all the time I spent trying to stop him."

"Stop him? But he's been helping us!" Davis said.

"That's subjective."

So many spoke so quickly at once that Davis wasn't entirely sure who had spoken and who hadn't. It was hard to miss Kari's expression saddening at that proclamation while Ken admitted, "He betrayed Ryo and sent him…somewhere else. I wasn't about to let him do that to me or any one else."

"We're still not sure what happened to him," Wormmon added uncomfortably, "Ken tracked down where he lived in the Real World. His parents still look for him, even after he's been missing for years."

"Yeah, I know what that's like," Kari added sheepishly. Ken continued working on the computer in total silence, only looking up once the machine beeped to life and the screen displayed a single red dot, "Found him. The digivice is at the top of Infinity Mountain on File Island. And if I switch it to detect for Agumons...there's one literally on top of the same signal as the digivice."

"Why there though?" Sora asked, "What's he doing all the way up there?"

"You can ask him when you get there," Ken pushed a button and the digivice popped out of its slot for Davis to take back. The small screen still showed red dot atop Infinity Mountain, moving back and forth as if it were pacing. Excited, Davis patted Ken's shoulder, "Alright Ken! Let's go find Agumon and fix Kari's brother!"

"I'm not going," Ken shook his head in disagreement, to Davis's displeasure, "What? Why not!? You've been a big help since you got here! You came up with ideas to find Agumon, warned us about Arukenimon, and helped us get to America. You have to come!"

"It'd be nice if you did," Yolei added sheepishly. Hawkmon raised an eyebrow knowingly before adding, "I agree. I think it would be a safe idea to have extra help. There's no doubt that Arukenimon will try to stop us if we were to attempt to find Agumon!"

Ken couldn't help but notice the others remained silent in that regard although Sora did offer him a smile. For a moment, he did consider the idea of joining them but he was certain that wasn't his destiny. Besides, destiny or fate would likely sabotage them if he tried to join them. He didn't need that on his conscious. He could tell Wormmon frowned when he answered, "Sorry, but the answer is no. I don't mind helping out if you guys need it again, but I think we should work separately for the time being."

"Don't be like that Ken," Wormmon pleaded with his partner, "We should help them. Isn't that what Agumon wanted? It'd make him happy to see us."

"I'm a jinx Wormmon," Ken pocketed his hands and stood up sheepishly, "With my luck, or the way fate or destiny or whatever wants to treat me, Arukenimon is probably standing right behind us."

"Or more accurately, just to the side," she said, to the shock of the digidestined present who leapt away in fear. Andromon acted instinctively and fired on her, only to miss when she stepped back. Arukenimon scoffed, "Is that anyway to greet a lady?"

"What are you doing here?" Sora hissed accusingly with a pointed finger.

"Oh me? I have no problem," Arukenimon teased them, "But I'm not the one attacking the village right now."

"Yeah, we know!" Gabumon growled, "You're right here with us!"

Arukenimon played with her hair, twirling a long strand with her finger, "You kids are no fun to play with. You're literally too slow to realize what's going on."

As if on cue, they heard an explosion in the direction of the village and TK's shoulders slumped, "Don't tell me the village is under attack again?"

"Yes, the idea is a little tired so I thought I'd put a new twist on it," Arukenimon smiled sweetly at them, "Of course, you could go running for The Digimon Tamer's Agumon first. Who am I to tell you what you can and can't do?"

"DaRk ShOt!"

The ground beneath their feet shook and everyone's faces paled, except for Arukenimon whose smile grew all the wider. Biyomon gasped, "You didn't!"

"Well, it took ten control spires," her smile vanished into a frown as she admitted that fact, "But the amount of destruction Agumon caused as SkullGreymon was just too much to not give it a try. But since I couldn't find him, I thought, why not just make one?"

"To be honest, I'm more annoyed that all the clean up we did is basically pointless now," Gomamon sighed, "I mean...what was the point of it all if it was just going to get blown again anyway? We really should consider just moving everyone somewhere else."

"Hush," Joe put a finger to his partner's lips to silence him.

"But how!? We destroyed all the control spires here!" Biyomon pointed out, which made Arukenimon mock her, "We destroyed every spire here! Yeah, there's a whole Digital World full of them thanks to our good friend Ken Ichijouji here. Applause to you Emperor."

Ken clicked his tongue distastefully, arms shaking with fury which only amused Arukenimon more, "Oh please, don't waste your anger on me. After all, there's a village being attacked by Tamer's Agumon gone rogue!"

"We already know that's not Tamer's Agumon!" Davis spat back, making Arukenimon smile sweetly as she gestured back at the village, "Oh I know that you know that. But _they_ don't."

"Oh, you _bitch_ ," Kari roared at Arukenimon, taking all of them by surprise. She ran forward and slapped the woman across the cheek, surprising everyone by how considerably red the handprint was. Gatomon looked at her partner and commented, "I had no idea you knew how to use that word."

"Did Kari just swear? Kari! Of all people?" Palmon looked around sheepishly. Arukenimon couldn't help but laugh as she massaged the sore spot on her cheek, "I'd be careful if I were you. Letting that anger and darkness take root may attract some unwanted attention. Especially from the ocean."

Both Davis and TK looked at Kari worriedly, while Kari only grew angrier, "How did you know about that?"

"How else do you think?" Arukenimon put a finger to her head, "I swear, you children are slow. You're not even aware of the fact that you're just being used. The Digimon Tamer is-"

"Okay, yeah, you're with Myotismon," TK interrupted her, which the others agreed with while she growled, "Don't interrupt me! Also, what?"

"Yeah, Myotismon. That's how he talked," Biyomon added excitedly before her tone became mocking, "Digimon Tamer is using us. You're just pawns."

"You don't understand what's going on," Gomamon repeated in a mocking voice.

"You even talk like him when you're making fun of us," Joe added.

"You really have no idea who Myotismon is?" TK asked, taking her silence as an affirmative, "Wow. If we're pawns, at least we know we are. You're the one who's a pawn and doesn't know it."

Arukenimon scoffed, "You're wasting your breath mocking me instead of saving the innocent digimon of that village."

"Just watch us!" Davis said, making a point of kicking her in the shin as he rushed past with his partner Veemon, "Let's go Veemon!"

Arukenimon massaged her shin, grunting at Davis' audacity, "I'll give him credit. Tamer's the only other one who ever laid a finger on me."

"Technically it was his foot," TK pointed out to her annoyance. She produced a flute from her dress and played a single note. A Kuwagamon emerged from the forest behind them, answering her call and roaring out loud. Arukenimon raised a hand over her head and laughed, grabbing onto Kuwagamon's maw as it flew past. TK cocked his head to the side, "Did she _have_ to make her escape so dramatic?"

"Guys! She's getting away!" Kari gasped. Sora pointed at the newer kids, "You guys go after her. We'll help Davis take care of SkullGreymon."

"What? Come with us-" Cody began to protest until Joe explained, "It's like we said last time. As long as there are control spires for her to use, we'll be dead weight. You guys will do a lot better without us than with us."

"Besides, we've fought SkullGreymon before," Tentomon nodded, "And he won't be so tough this time since he's not hopped up on Tamer's rage. It'll be easy."

"What?" Cody blinked in confusion while Matt said, "We'll tell you about it later. Let's go!"

The two groups parted in different directions, the younger digidestined going after Arukenimon while the older digidestined chased after Davis and Veemon. There was one addition who joined them, catching the group off guard. Matt looked back at him, "Why are you following us Ichijouji? Arukenimon is that way!"

"I don't take orders from you," Ken barked back, "And the control spires are my creation. They're my responsibility. Even the digimon that she makes from them. I'm taking responsibility for that mistake."

"Whatever, just don't slow us down," Matt grumbled. Ken expected this hostility to continue for some time and chose to say nothing, even though he really wanted to snap back at the blonde. He'd made more than his share of mistakes. That's why he was doing what he was doing now - to make up for it. He held out his digivice, "Wormmon!"

"Wormmon! Digivolve to! Stingmon!"

Just ahead of them, Davis already had the same idea with his partner. ExVeemon grabbed Davis by the collar of his shirt and took to the sky just as the village came into view. Looming over it was the skeletal monstrosity SkullGreymon sparring with ShogunGekomon just outside the village. Ogremon was leading a group of the guards in helping fight off SkullGreymon but the strength and size difference made their efforts futile at best and pointless at worst. Anything they did was returned a hundred fold with a sweep of the monster's tail.

ExVeemon swooped in from above and slammed into SkullGreymon head from the side, alerting the skeletal monstrosity to arrival of the other digidestined. It was at that moment that the older digidestined raised their digivices together to join the defense. With one loud voice, their partners declared their digivolutions - Garudamon, WereGarurumon, MegaKabuterimon, and Zudomon charged straight into the fight. Palmon, along with the other digidestined moved around the side of the fighting to enter the village and help there while their partners swarmed the monstrous skeleton.

"Come to your senses Agumon!" ShogunGekomon shouted, "This is neither the time nor the place!"

"DiE! eVeRyBoDy DiE!" SkullGreymon growled, picking each digimon off him one at a time and slamming them to the ground under each limb until he was on all fours, "KiLl! MuSt KiLl! TaMeR wAnTs It!"

"What's gotten into you!?" ShogunGekomon demanded of SkullGreymon, slamming into him to push him away from the village. The villagers cheered in excitement, glad to see the monster driven back but scared to see it throw their fearless leader over his head, "DiE!"

"I don't understand? Why is Agumon attacking!?" one of the guards asked.

"It's not Agumon!" Ken shouted from beside Davis, watching Stingmon encircle SkullGreymon to get his attention. He drew his sword from his arm and dove, "Over here! Spiking Strike!"

It stabbed SkullGreymon's jaw, breaking the bone and making the digimon scream in pain. Stingmon retreated away when SkullGreymon tried to swat at him, and the skeleton slammed itself in its face. ExVeemon saw his chance and charged the light on his chest, unleashing a powerful beam on SkullGreymon, "Vee-laser!"

The blast hit SkullGreymon from the side, and he howled in pain before swiping at ExVeemon. The champion was slower, less used to his ability to fly and was easily thrown to the ground just as the other digidestined partners swarmed SkullGreymon. He didn't stay down long and rushed back in, joining with Stingmon. The two swooped under SkullGreymon's feet to pull his attention from others who attacked simultaneously, "Wing Blade!"

"Horn Buster!"

"Vulcan's Hammer!"

A blast of fire, lightning and light hit SkullGreymon's head, turning his attention away from Stingmon. Davis cheered excitedly, "Yeah! How's that big guy? We got way more where that came from!"

"Don't celebrate yet Davis! That thing is still moving," Ken pointed out to him. Davis gestured at it, "Are you kidding? We have him on the ropes!"

As soon as he said those words, SkullGreymon turned on the other Ultimate digimon and charged. WereGarurumon leapt up to meet him but was swatted aside with ease. Then Garudamon and Zudomon tried restraining his arms, while MegaKabuterimon rammed him skull first. In an amazing display of strength, SkullGreymon suplexed the giant insect while the other digimon were still holding him. Both Garudamon and Zudomon slammed into the ground, leaving SkullGreymon open to stomp on their heads.

"See?" Ken pointed, which Davis clicked his tongue at, "You and I got this!"

"What do you mean you and I?"

"Come on, we're a team! Both digidestined, both the best soccer players on our teams," Davis listed off. Ken saw where this was going and put a stop to it right away, "We're not a team. We just have a common goal right now."

"Oh come on, Ken," Davis threw up his arms in frustration, "Why don't you just admit you're a part of the team? You're a big help and it's what you should be doing if you really are trying to turn over a new leaf."

"Because…I'm bad luck," Ken answered sheepishly, "Let's face it. Everything I do blows up in my face or gets the people I care about hurt. Like Sam or Wormmon. I'm not going through that again."

Davis paused when he heard Ken's reason. He'd seen how Ken had become after those two things happened and he wasn't sure what he could say to make it better. Still Davis couldn't help his mouth from moving, "Look, I get it. You're scared because of mistakes you've made. But that's in the past! And you can't let that stop you from doing the right thing. If I froze up every time I made a mistake, I'd be a popsicle before first period was over! The important thing is you're making up for it. That's what really matter's Ken! So why not join us?"

Ken scoffed, "Yeah, of course you'd say that. I don't know what makes you think I will."

"Uh, cause we're friends?" Davis answered back, giving him pause, "What?"

Davis slapped his back, "Yeah. I mean, okay you were kind of a jerk at the beginning but you're trying to make up for it. I don't know how many more times I can say the things you've done to help, but I think it's obvious that you're a good guy Ken. You just…made a mistake. And we all want to help you out, y'know?"

Ken closed his eyes, "I…this is something I have to do on my own."

"Only you're not," Davis pointed to Stingmon, "He's been with you the entire time. Let's face it. You've never done it alone. Why not just let a few more help you out?"

Ken looked away, "It's not the same."

"Yes it. He helped you because he's your friend! Even when you started doing the wrong things. And he's still helping you now that you're doing the right thing. Just like we want to," Davis said, holding out his digivice to show Ken, "We're digidestined. That means we're on a team. And that means none of us should ever have to do it alone."

Ken felt his heart beating in chest so hard that the blood rushed through his ears. It took a moment for him to realize that there was a second heart beat he was hearing. He and Davis locked eyes, gazing into each other's just long enough to know they were thinking the same thing. He was right. Ken closed his eyes and nodded, "You're right."

What neither boy realized was that their digivices had both come aglow with bright light, echoing through their partners as they came together to punch SkullGreymon in the face. In that exact moment when their fists struck the side of his face, they were engulfed in a blindingly bright light. With one loud voice, they spoke together, "ExVeemon! Stingmon! DNA Digivolve to! Paildramon!"

The digimon that emerged from the blinding light resembled an odd mishmash of both - as if ExVeemon had slimmed down considerably, put on Stingmon's armor, then placed a red helm over his face that flattened it. Odder yet, a second pair of blue wings appeared just above his shoulders while a second set of limbs that looked like guns came out the sides of his waist. The new digimon looked at itself in surprise, "Huh. This is new. _Wait, who was that?_ That was me! _I know it was me, but I didn't say it._ Who is this? _I'm Stingmon, who are you?_ ExVeemon. _Why am I hearing your voice in my head ExVeemon?_ More importantly, why am I hearing your voice in mine, Stingmon? _Maybe we're in each other's heads?_ Oooh!"

"What's going on?" Davis asked, "What is that?"

"It's called DNA Digivolution," WereGarurumon explained, jumping ahead towards Paildramon. When he was under them, he called for their attention, "Listen! You're both sharing a body now! If you want to survive, you'll have to work together."

Paildramon looked down at WereGarurumon with a turned head, "How do we go to the bathroom? I'm not comfortable going in front of someone else."

"Forget about that," WereGarurumon shouted, "Both of you will have to combine your strength and fight that fake SkullGreymon!"

"How?" Paildramon asked their mentor, "And how do you know so much about this?"

"Just do what comes natural! Don't think about it! Trust your instincts!" WereGarurumon said, just as SkullGreymon rose back up to fight. Paildramon nodded and moved in front of SkullGreymon, "Got it! _Just do what comes natural!_ VEE-LASER! Why didn't that work? _Because we're not ExVeemon anymore, we're Paildramon!_ Then what can we use? _Well, we have guns on our sides now._ Oh, okay! Here we go! Let's try this! DESPERADO BLASTER!"

Paildramon grabbed the guns on the side of his body and fired them like machine guns. The hits were hard and fast, chipping away at SkullGreymon's skeleton to reveal the black metal beneath signifying that he was a fake. However, he wasn't the kind of digimon who intended to lie down and die. SkullGreymon roared in defiance, rising up to grab Paildramon until both Zudomon and MegaKabuterimon leapt on him from behind to keep him pinned. Garudamon and WereGarurumon struck him together at the same time to knock him to the ground, then helped hold him there. SkullGreymon gnashed its misshapen teeth and crumbling bones in protest, "DeStRoY! DeStRoY!"

"Destroy this!" Paildramon said, staying just above SkullGreymon's pinned body, "Sting Strike!"

The blades on his wrists expanded and he dove forward like Stingmon would, piercing SkullGreymon in the center of his head. SkullGreymon stopped struggling against the two other digimon holding him, before he fell limp and crumbled. His bones quickly decayed to dust, revealing the black metal underneath. Then it exploded. Ken breathed a sigh of relief, glad that this was over for the time being but knowing that the others were still in danger. He could tell that he and Davis shared this idea and both nodded in agreement, calling for Paildramon together. Without a word, Paildramon also knew what they were thinking and picked them up as he flew past - buzzing straight out into the ocean after the others.

 


	30. From The Other Side

Each of the digidestined rode atop their partners, except for Cody and Armadillomon who shared a ride with TK on Pegasusmon. They soared steadily over the boundless ocean, still in pursuit of Arukenimon and the Kuwagamon carrying her. Yolei would check her digivice to make sure they were still going in the correct direction since they'd long since lost sight of her. And knowing Agumon was in that direction only made them more anxious.

Kari's was sick to her stomach with worry, fearful of what would happen if that horrible woman got to Agumon first. Tai so close, but he'd never felt further away. To see her brother again was all she'd ever asked for but all she'd ever gotten was losing him again and again; it would not happen as long as she was able to do something about it. Her blood ran cold with every horrible thought of the things that would happen if Arukenimon got to Agumon first. Her breath began to appear in front of her from the chills, until she realized the air had gotten cold as well.

Just over the horizon, a dark mass in the ocean became clear. The temperature seemed to drop as they drew closer to the distant object, revealing itself as a large whirlpool in the the middle of the ocean. However, the current descended further down than they could see into the ocean, as if it disappeared into darkness. Pegasusmon halted just short of it, fearful of how nothing could be seen at such a depth, "Didn't think we'd be flying over this thing again."

"Yeah," TK looked down at it angrily, "It still gives me the creeps."

Kari looked into the abyssal deep of the whirlpool and shivered, dreading whatever lay at the bottom of it. Eventually, the digimon regathered their nerve and started to fly over it. At the moment they passed over its center, she heard a cold drawl behind her, " _We've found you._ "

Kari looked over her shoulder in a panic, "What!?"

There was nothing behind her.

"What's wrong, Kari?" Nefertimon asked, trying to look over her shoulder without crashing in the air. She shook her head, massaging her arms to warm them, "I don't know. You…didn't hear that?"

"Hear what?" Cody asked from atop Pegasusmon. TK urged his partner to fly closer to Nefertimon, chilled to the bone but more worried for Kari, "Kari. Be honest. What's wrong? You didn't hear that voice again, did you?"

"No…I don't know," Kari shook her head with uncertainty, trying to convince herself that it had been in her head. Then she heard it again, " _They're not here. They can't save you._ "

"TK…I hear it," she croaked, now certain that going near the whirlpool was a mistake. Now Yolei and Aquilamon's attention were on her and they flew to join them, "Heard what? That thing Davis talked about? I don't see anything."

" _Soon._ "

"That's not how it works, Yolei," TK explained to her, "Last time...only Kari could see or hear them. Then they took her."

"I'd like to see them try," Yolei said bitterly, pulling Aquilamon closer to Kari.

" _We'll take you down below_."

Kari shivered, feeling a cold chill run down her side. Yolei reached for her hand, holding it gently, "Kari…what's wrong?"

" _To our master, you shall go._ "

An overwhelming sickness overtook Kari and she did her best to not heave on top of Nefertimon, although even her partner convulsed for a moment as if she were suddenly sick. The vivid blue ocean and sunny skies were replaced by a dull twilight over murky gray waters. Not again. She didn't want to be here. She hugged her partner's back and closed her eyes, "Nefertimon! Get us out of here!"

"And go where?" she replied, "I have no idea _where_ here is!"

"Where are we and why does this place make me sick?" Yolei looked around her anxiously, feeling an uneasiness in the pit of her stomach. Kari wanted to answer but the fear of this place kept her mouth from moving and stopped the air in her lungs. Nefertimon tried to urger her partner, "Don't freak out now Kari. Don't forget what happened last time."

"Last time?" Aquilamon repeated curiously, before the obvious conclusion came to him, "Wait, is this the place that you disappeared to the first time?"

"What I wouldn't give to have Davis here right now," Yolei said quietly, "So what's the plan?"

"Plan?" Nefertimon repeated.

"Yeah, this happened to you before, right? What did you guys do?" Yolei asked quickly, growing anxious with every second they were. Kari shook with fear as she gave her answer, "I don't know."

The answer she got from Nefertimon wasn't the answer that she wanted to hear, "Last time, Agumon was the one who helped us escape by opening a gate. We don't really know how TK, Davis, Veemon or Patamon got here the first time."

"No, we have to get out of here!" Kari nearly shrieked as she finally gave in to her fear, "This place is wrong! I don't want to be here! Take us home. Take us home!"

"Kari! Calm down," her partner shouted to no avail. It seemed her partner was too panicked to be reasoned with or to think straight. Yolei hated the idea of it, but she and Aquilamon would have to take care of Kari while also figuring out how to get out her own. She called out to Nefertimon, "Let's Head back the way we came and see if we can get to shore!"

"Which way is the shore?" Aquilamon asked her. Yolei used her digivice's map function but found it displaying a blank screen instead. Despite every fiber in her being knowing to treat any electronic with delicacy, she shook the digivice and slapped it a few times, "Come on, you stupid thing. Work!"

"Screw it. Let's just start flying!" Nefertimon raced ahead, Kari clinging tight and burying her face into her back. Aquilamon agreed, "That sounds good to me. Let's go!"

"We should probably stick together," Yolei nodded in agreement, hanging on to her partner for dear life as he sipped abead. It was hard to tell how long they'd been flying after that, as time seemed to slow to a crawl. The more time they spent here, the more Yolei noticed something wrong. The ocean was still, the wind was silent, there was no visible source of light yet the ocean looked to be trapped in twilight, and there was only silence all around them. Yet she couldn't shake the feeling of being watched, constantly looking over her shoulder as if she expected to find someone else riding Aquilamon.

Although she wasn't nearly as scared as Kari was, she finally understood why this place caused her panic. After traveling some distance, they finally found a place where they could land. It was a cold, desolate stretch of beach marked only by a light house casting a dark beam over the horizon. It reflected off the still water like eyes that followed them as they landed. Yolei's hair stood on end at the back of her neck, as if someone's breath ran down her back. She spun around to make sure no one else was there, unnerved by the eerie silence that accompanied them. They were alone, yet it never felt that way.

* * *

Davis couldn't wait to see Kari and show her Veemon's new digivolution. While he was certain it wouldn't impress her, he did hope that it would at least help him move out of her brother's shadow. Of course, Paildramon flew so fast that they caught up to TK and Cody quickly, both hovering in the air in confusion. Neither Kari, Yolei, Nefertimon or Aquilamon were anywhere to be seen. Davis asked, "Where's Kari?"

"That's What we're trying to figure out! She was here a moment ago," Cody explained to Davis frustration, "What!? You lost her?"

"She was hearing voices. It started as soon as we were over that thing," Pegasusmon explained, nodding to the massive whirlpool beneath them. Davis glanced down at it, "Isn't this where we boarded Ken's ship?"

"It was," Ken's voice shook. Davis looked at him, "What's with you Ken?"

"I just didn't think I'd ever be back here," Ken looked down at the ocean below, "It...unsettles me. Especially after last time."

It was hard for anyone to miss the look Ken gave TK, and even harder for TK to pretend he didn't notice. Cody was just as uneasy, "Do you think they're down there?"

"I know they are. The problem is that it's a one way trip," Ken answered anxiously, "If we go through, we could get stuck down there. And who knows what will happen if Arukenimon gets to Agumon first."

Davis didn't need to think about it, "I'm not leaving Kari down there! She needs our help!"

"If Arukenimon gets to Agumon first, it won't matter if we save her or not!" Ken argued, "We have to focus on that."

" _Ken, we can't just leave two of the digidestined behind! We're not Tamer!_ " Paildramon declared, "Wait, whose thoughts were those? _Those were mine ExVeemon._ Oh, sorry Stingmon. I'm still getting used to those whole sharing a body thing."

"Okay, what's happening?" Cody asked, "Who's that digimon?"

"Oh, this is Paildramon," Davis tapped the digimon's chest, "He's ExVeemon and Stingmon. They did some new digivolution...DNA, I think? Anyway, he's awesome. It's just hard to keep track of who's talking."

"I can't go back there, Stingmon," Ken's voice broke, "I can't. Please don't make me."

"Whoa, does that place get to you too, Ken?" Davis asked curiously, "It's just like PJ and Kari. That place messed with them too."

Cody examined himself, "Really? I don't feel anything."

"So what do we do?" Pegasusmon asked. TK patted Cody's shoulder, "Do you think you'd be all right on your own with Ken?"

Cody eyed Ken cautiously, willing to work with him but nervous about being left alone with him. It wasn't so much that he disliked Ken, he just wasn't sure if either of them would have anything to talk about, "I suppose I could."

"Well we have to go in after Kari and someone has to go after Arukenimon. Davis and I have the most experience with the Dark Ocean so we'll go in with Pegasusmon to rescue Kari, Yolei, Nefertimon, and Aquilamon," TK explained, "Paildramon can take Ken, Cody, and Armadillomon."

"I wonder why you weren't the one Tamer chose to guard his legacy," Ken said aloud, catching TK off guard and making Davis click his tongue. TK scratched the back of his head, "I'm not sure what you mean by that."

"Of everyone of you, you're probably the one who acts the most like him," Ken said with a soft smile, "Though I suppose Davis is the one who dresses as him."

Davis scoffed and shifted anxiously. It was hard to tell if impatience is what drove him or annoyance, but he waved to the others, "Okay. You guys keep planning this out, I'm going ahead."

Wih some struggle, Davis pushed himself off of Paildramon and dove straight down into the whirlpool. They watched him fall without a sound, disappearing into the darkness about halfway down. Ken blinked, "Never mind, I think I get why Tamer chose him now."

"Davis follows 'is heart more than 'is head," Armadillomon stated happily for him. Ken raised an eyebrow at Armadillomon's observation, "That's another way of saying he acts without thinking. Are you coming?"

The exchange of Cody and Armadillomon was awkward for Paildramon, but he was able to handle them both in one arm so that Pegasusmon could fly in after Davis. There was no telling what kind of trouble he'd end up in on his own in the Dark Ocean.

* * *

Yolei and Aquilamon scanned up and down the shore line for any tv monitor they could use as a gate to get back to the Digital World. All that greeted them was miles of sand and still water. After an hour in this place, Yolei and Aquilamon were able to see past its eerie emptiness. There was an unspoken tranquility to the emptiness although Kari didn't share that opinion. The poor girl clutched at her head the entire time, mumbling about voices while her partner tried to ease her, "It's just us here Kari. You're safe."

"You don't understand! It's not safe! It will never be safe! Not while he's looking for us!" Kari's voice shook. Gatomon stroked her hair to soothe her and continued trying to calm her, "We're here, Kari. We'll protect you."

"We've been walking forever and we haven't seen a single gate. Maybe we should split up?" Yolei suggested, "It'll help us cover more ground."

"No. If Dragomon show up, we'll be in trouble on our own," Gatomon explained to them, "And I can't digivolve again with Kari like this. We need to stick together."

"It'll make searching a lot harder," Yolei looked to her partner, "And you need a rest. How about we walk for now?"

"Yeah, Kari. Let's take a walk down the beach!" Gatomon nudged her partner cheerfully, "The sea breeze and clean air will help clear your head."

"What breeze? This place is so creepy that there's nothing," Aquilamon pointed out to them.

"He lives in the air and can smell our scent in the wind," Kari mumbled quietly to herself, alarming them. Gatomon's ears sank but she continued to stroke her partner's hair, "It's okay Kari. We're right here."

"We need to go. We can't stop moving," Kari mumbled sheepishly. Yolei waited for Kari and Gatomon to start moving forward, letting them set the pace while they followed just behind them. They hadn't gone more than a few paces before Yolei felt the eerie feeling behind her again - a sense of being watched by someone so close that she could practically feel their breath behind her. When she looked back, all she saw was Aquilamon and miles of empty beach behind her.

This did nothing to alleviate the feeling of being watched, as every step they took made the breath feel closer upon them. Yolei tried to ignore the feeling but even she began to wonder if the breathing she was feeling was related to the voices that Kari could hear.

" _Come back to us, child of light._ "

Yolei spun on her heels while Kari wailed, "They're here!"

"Okay, did anyone else hear that?" Aquilamon asked, spreading his wings to make himself larger and hoping to scare off whatever had spoken. The voice was hoarse and gurgling, as if it spoke from beneath the water, "Curse the Digimon Tamer who stole the light!"

" _Return the light to the dark._ "

" _All came from the dark, so all will return to dark. That is your curse._ "

" _All came from nothing, so all will return to nothing. That is your curse_."

" _Your home is the dark. That is your curse_."

"Knock it off and shut up!" Yolei screamed back at the voices, failing to interrupt the endless chanting. If this was what Kari was enduring, it was little wonder that Kari was breaking down the way she was. With one loud voice, the voices cried in unison, " _Mercy upon the accursed! SkullSatamon! Have mercy!_ "

"What's a SkullSatamon?" Yolei asked her partner and was answered with a shrug. The feeling of being watched returned and the breath ran down her neck again. This time it was warm and heavy, as if struggling to breathe after a long exercise. She spun around and came face to face with a red skeleton with horns and leathery wings on its back. Paired with the black wings were pants and boots covered in chains and spikes. Yolei should have felt frightened, but was really just underwhelmed by whatever this was, "Why are you dressed like some socially awkward goth punk?"

It replied with a scathing voice that sounded like nails on a chalkboard, "I am SkullSatamon. I am here for the child of light."

"You look like you're here to take my lunch money," Yolei replied sheepishly. This was not the great horror she'd been expecting - after SkullGreymon, Kimeramon, the Ancient temple that brought Ken's brother back to life - this was just disappointing. It was made all the worse by its voice when it rebuked her, "You will treat me with respect!"

"She doesn't have to do anything! Are you the one who brought us here?" Aquilamon growled. SkullSatamon laughed, its jaw moving irregularly with each cackle, "I don't answer to you. Move aside before I make fried chicken!"

"I want to say I'm intimidated but all I feel here is like one of the school bullies is trying to make me feel bad about myself," Yolei admitted openly, her shoulders relaxing. She thumbed at it and asked, "Is this really the guy who brought you here?"

"No. It wasn't him. And it wasn't alone either. Last time it was something called Dragomon and a bunch of digimon who served it. I don't know what SkullSatamon has to do with any of this though," Gatomon frowned, while Kari continued to shiver in terror. SkullSatamon laughed at them, "You really have no clue do you? Oh…my…well, all you need to know is that the Child of Light is of special interest to us. Well, her and the Ichijouji boy, but he doesn't come around here anymore. And with The Digimon Tamer not quite around at the moment, we decided to take a step forward. So…give her to me and I'll be on our way."

"What do you want with Ken?" Yolei's attention peaked at the sound his name. SkullSatamon laughed, "Wouldn't you like to know, you stuck up brat."

"Yeah, that's why I asked," Yolei stated.

"You don't really talk like the others," Gatomon observed. SkullSatamon tried to do something akin to clicking his tongue before repeating itself, "Enough! Give me the child of light or I'll smash your face in!"

"If you want Kari, then you'll have to go through us you big creep!" Yolei snapped at it. The skeletal digimon laughed in amusement, "AS YOU WISH!"

It waved its hand through the air and produced a black staff that it raised over its head to strike Yolei. It only now sank into the girl that this wasn't a school bully and she may have been too quick to decide that mocking it was a good idea. She was saved only because Aquilamon tackled the giant skeleton at the last second, "LEAVE HER ALONE!"

SkullSatamon growled, "Oh, to hell with this stupid chicken!"

"Well this chicken's coming home to roost!" Aquilamon dragged SkullSatamon skywards. SkullSatamon made something like a smirk and smacked the flying eagle with his spear, "Sounds good to me! I've wanted some fried meat!"

Yolei buried her face in her hands as she could barely deal with the poor attempts at quips that SkullSatamon was trying to play at, and even more annoyed that Aquilamon was indulging them, "Please…just stop with the chicken thing."

"Shut up! I'm not part of your system!" SkullSatamon growled, wrestling itself free of Aquilamon's hold. Yolei sighed again, "Geez, he even sounds like a whiny goth kid!"

Gatomon called her attention back, "Can we hurry up and finish this? Kari's really losing it!"

"Yeah, working on it," Aquilamon shouted from above, just as SkullSatamon rushed him. Yolei took Kari's hand and held it tight, "Gatomon, I'll look after Kari. Go help Aquilamon."

"Okay, stay safe," Gatomon nodded, running into help the giant red bird.

* * *

Davis wanted to say that he regretted his actions but he was more confused than terrified. About halfway down the whirlpool, he felt like he was being pulled into the Digital World again. Only he appeared several hundred feet in the air over a large ocean - and he was plummeting downward. He opened his mouth to scream as he fell but his voice failed him. At the moment he expected his life to end with a shattering splash, he instead felt himself come to an abrupt but soft stop. There was no searing pain from the fall, just confusion. At first he thought he was dead, but he opened his eyes and saw himself lying face down on the water.

It was solid to the touch but he was able to put his hand through it with some effort, but otherwise he rested on it like it was solid ground. But it was what he saw underneath that really bothered him - a number of twisted towers spiraling out of the darkness made of stone but moving as if it was alive. They were illuminated, like a city passing beneath him as he flew over. And there was something rising out of it. Something coming to greet him. He narrowed his eyes to get a better a look, "What is that?"

"DAVIS!"

Davis looked up to see TK and Pegasusmon descending from above. He glanced back down to the city below but saw only darkness. He rubbed his eyes to make sure it wasn't a trick a trick of the light. It was indeed gone. Davis pushed himself on to his feet just as Pegasusmon hovered beside him, "How are you doing that?"

"I don't know," Davis scratched his head, "It's like the water is solid. It's creeping me out. And get this! There was something down there at the bottom a second ago!"

"But we're in the middle of the ocean," TK gestured around them, "It's got to be miles deep."

A chill ran down his spine as he realized that point but Davis shrugged it off anyway, "Don't look at me dude. The water's solid and I'm standing on it. And there was something down there. This place never makes sense! Let's get out of here and go find Kari already."

"Yeah, just climb on," TK offered a hand to help Davis onto his partner's back. Once aboard, TK took out his digivice and examined it, "It says they're that way. Let's go!"

"What about Ken and Paildramon?" Davis asked anxiously. TK shook his head, "They went after Arukenimon with Cody and Armadillomon. We'll catch up with them after we find Kari and Yolei."

* * *

Yolei ran as fast as Kari would let her. She'd been so panicked that she was barely able to react when Gatomon told her to move out of the way. Behind them, Gatomon and Aquilamon fought with the flying skeleton of a digimon - trying to keep him away from the two girls. However, they were outclassed by this digimon who expertly moved around their attacks and felt nothing whenever they hit the mark.

"Blast Rings!"

"Lightning Paw!"

SkullSatamon blocked both attacks with his staff, then returned the favor by raising it over his head. It glowed with a violent red light that burst forth at both digimon, "Nail Bone!"

Both of their partners managed to get out of the way before either was hurt too badly by the attack but both were blown away by the force of the damage. They felt their skin burning from the heat and the air warm up around the blast - hurting them but not quite damaging them. SkullSatamon cackled jovially as the attack increased, "Hahaha! This is fun! Here! Have another! NAIL BONE!"

Both Gatomon and Aquilamon scurried away from the attack, hoping to reposition themselves and buy their partners more time to get away. At this point though, Yolei refused to run any further. She wasn't going to abandon her partner and it wasn't like she could do much to defend both Kari and herself on her own. She cheered her partner on, "Aquilamon! You can do it! Beat his smug, goth, punk, teenage attitude crap…yeah…okay, I'm not good at this."

"He calls from the dark and the beginning. Praise him. Praise him," Kari mumbled to herself furiously, shivering and shaking so that she spoke in a sing-song voice, "We all come from it and we will return to it. We are all his children."

"Kari, snap out of it," Yolei shook the girl, "Please, you have to help Gatomon. She can't digivolve without you."

"I can't," Kari shook her head disbelievingly, "I'm not strong! I can't do this on my own! I…I need Tai!"

Yolei slapped Kari's cheek. Today was just a day full of surprises for both girls. This was not something Yolei would do on a whim and the fact that she'd done it at all made her worry that she was spending too much time around Davis. And Kari couldn't ever remember being slapped as hard as she just was. Both were too surprised to give it much thought, especially with SkullSatamon getting closer and closer. Yolei took both of Kari's hands in her own, "Kari! You are literally the strongest girl I know! You always jump to the occasion if it means you can help someone! Like in America with Willis. And you're the most passionate one of us! So you can't give up on me now. I need your help! Gatomon needs your help!"

Kari's eyes came into focus as she listened to Yolei. She looked past her to see Gatomon and Aquilamon fighting to stop SkullSatamon. Her heart beat so hard in her chest that she thought it would burst out of her. Yolei relaxed her hand and smiled, "I know you're scared. But don't be! We can get out of this. The both of us!"

Kari's focus returned to Yolei, and she nodded her head. Yolei helped her up, both girls looking back to face SkullSatamon and their partners. Neither was sure what to do now, but both resolved to defeat the monstrous digimon and leave this place. Together, of one mind and heart, their digivices resonated and produced a blinding flash of light that drove SkullSatamon back. The lights reverberated to their partners, who both charged the digimon at the same time.

"Aquilamon! Gatomon! DNA Digivolve to! Silphymon!"

Silphymon came out of the digivolution and kicked SkullSatamon so hard that he did a flip in the air before correcting himself. Silphymon was the most humanoid of the new digimon they'd seen but was also the most…different. Its legs were Aquilamon's but it resembled Gatomon from the waist up with its feline claws and white fur. At its elbows, the fur became large feathers to produce small wings. Metal armor ran across its chest and face, ending at a pair of cat like ears and brown hair. With one voice, the two digimon spoke together, "Alright. That's more like it! Now let's put an end to his fight SkullSatamon!"

"Oh, this isn't good," SkullSatamon made the same clicking motion with its jaw. Silphymon brought its hands together and began channeling a ball of electrical energy in her hands. Then it threw it as hard as it could, "STATIC FORCE!"

SkullSatamon dived out of the blasts way, watching it strike the light house behind and it bursting into flame in response. Their attacker seemed disinterested in fighting now and fled away, "Okay. This is taking too long and I don't like where this is going. I'm getting out of here!"

"What's the matter? Afraid now that it's a fair fight?" Silphymon taunted, "You sound like a big chicken to me!"

"Oh come on! Let it die already!" Yolei complained, noticing Kari giggle for the first time since they came here. SkullSatamon didn't answer either of them but did look off into the distance anxiously, "Dammit. Out of time. We'll settle this another time. Until then, you'd better watch out! Agumon and The Digimon Tamer aren't around to stop us anymore. And next time…you won't be so lucky."

He vanished before their eyes, leaving only the sound of cackling as he disappeared. Silphymon clicked her tongue angrily, "Hey come back here! Let us back to the Digital World! That stupid digimon. So now what?"

"I don't know. I honestly didn't think we'd last this long," Yolei shrugged, "I guess we go back to figuring out a way back to the Digital World. By the way, you look so cool Silphymon."

"Thank you," Both Gatomon and Aquilamon's voice spoke together, "It's weird though: sharing a body like this. _What do you mean?_ Wait, who said that? _I did._ Huh, I guess our minds are still separate. _That's confusing_. Yeah it is."

"Okay, stop that," Yolei raised up her hands in confusion, "What are you doing?"

"I guess even though we share a body, we still think independtly of each other. This is Aquilamon by the way. _Yeah I think she could figure that out since I don't talk like that._ Be nice Gatomon. _I think you mean Silphymon,_ " Silphymon spoke to herself with a devilish grin on her face. Yolei massaged her temples trying to make sense of what they were doing. Kari giggled in amusement but found herself wondering a different question, "Hey Silphymon. I wanted to know. Are you a boy or a girl?"

"Good question. I don't know," Silphymon shrugged, looking down at its body in contemplation, "I think I'm both. I don't know. _It's kind of weird for me._ "

"Yeah, no kidding," Yolei sighed, "What do you think he meant by he was out of time?"

"Hey! Kari! Yolei!" TK's voice called out to them. In the distance, fast approaching we're TK and Davis riding atop Pegasusmon. Silphymon folded its arms on seeing them, "Davis just can't leave you alone, can he? _TK either, apparently._ "

"Hey!" Yolei waved her arms in the air in joy upon seeing them. As soon as they landed, Davis ran up to Kari, "Are you okay? No one hurt you did they?"

"I'm fine Davis," she nodded, walking to Yolei's side, "Thanks for worrying. How did you guys get here?"

"Davis jumped head first into a whirlpool to find you," TK said with a goofy smile, "I'm glad to see you're all okay. What happened? It wasn't Dragomon, was it?"

"No. Some goth digimon named SkullSatamon," Silphymon grunted. Davis walked around the new digimon excitedly, "Let me guess: Gatomon and Aquilamon?"

"It's Silphymon now," it answered, "How'd you guess?"

"ExVeemon and Stingmon did the same thing. They called it DNA Digivolution," Davis smiled manically, "It was so cool, too! They became Paildramon and totally mopped the floor with SkullGreymon. Then we went to find you guys and TK told us you vanished over the whirlpool. So we came after you! Well I did. TK sat around talking to the others."

"We were making a plan Davis. Ken, Cody, and Paildramon went after Arukenimon," TK answered angrily before realizing he'd missed something important, "Wait! You said my name right!"

"Yeah, no duh," Davis frowned, "So next step is get out of here."

"Yeah, but how? Last time, WarGreymon bailed us out!" Silphymon said, "Wait, why do I know that? I mean I do but I wasn't there. These aren't my memories. Huh, I think I can see Gatomon's memories. _Mind my privacy Aquilamon._ There's a lot of memories in here of Wizardmon. _Get out of my head Aquilamon!_ It's my head too. Huh, you really liked Wizardmon."

"Oh, you guys are having trouble too," Davis smiled, amusedly, "Yeah, that threw off Paildramon too! WereGarurumon said to just do what comes natural and it will all work out."

" _Right now, I want to punch Aquilamon for looking into my memories,_ " Silphymon grumbled, pausing before it punched itself in the leg, "OW! We share a body idiot. _You're the idiot!_ "

"Stop fighting!" Kari pleaded with them just as Silphymon started to glow. In a flash of light, the single digimon returned to both Hawkmon and Gatomon. Hawkmon massaged his forehead, "That is quite the experience. I have a killer head ache."

"Tell me about it," Gatomon growled, walking right up to the hawk so she could smack the back of his head, "Stay out of my memories."

"I was just making an observation," Hawkmon massaged the sore part of his head, "You didn't have to hit so hard."

"I wasn't kidding. Next time, don't look at my memories. Now, how do we get out of here?" Gatomon looked back at Kari, "Last time I became Angewomon and that Heaven's Charm seemed to work."

"Last time, WarGreymon showed up too. For all we know, Tamer opened up a gate so WarGreymon could save us," TK added, shooting down Gatomon's suggestion.

"Why not just do that then?" Davis asked, raising his digivice above his head to shout, "Digiport Open!"

Before anyone could think to chastise him, a bright light appeared in front of them as if opening a tear. Beyond this light, they could see a sunny shoreline and a calm sea. Gatomon's jaw fell open, "The hell? Seriously? That's all we had to do?"

"Things just do kind of work out for him, huh," TK frowned, looking at the others more nervously, "Either way, we have an exit! Now let's go!"

"It looks like we'll come out ahead of Arukenimon! We have a head start on her!" Kari said excitedly, rushing straight ahead towards the island and to Agumon.

 


	31. Race to Infinity Mountain

The digidestined were confident that they'd come out ahead of Arukenimon, landing on the sunny and sandy shores of File Island. Despite the certainty of being ahead, Kari took off on a sprint towards the mountain in the distance - anxious to get Agumon and her brother back. TK called after her, "Kari! Wait!"

"Arukenimon is still coming and we have to hurry if we're going to get to Agumon first," Kari shouted back before she disappeared into the forest. Her partner sighed, "How come we're always running? Why can't we relax like cats for once and just nap?"

"Because where's the fun in that?" Pegasusmon winked before joking, "You want to hit Agumon too, don't you?"

"Not Agumon, no," Gatomon leered, following her partner into the forest. They followed Kari's lead through the forest, ignoring TK's remarks about everything appearing much bigger the last time he was here. Pegasusmon countered by pointing out he'd simply gotten taller since then, although TK remained unconvinced of that fact.

Traveling further in, they were met only with the natural sounds of the forest and occasional roar of a digimon somewhere. Some smaller bug digimon even buzzed past them, taking Yolei off guard in a desperate panic. They only stopped when they came across a control spire resting in the middle of an unnatural clearing in the forest. TK gaped at it, "A control spire."

"Haven't we destroyed all these things already?" Davis asked, kicking the side of it, "How many did Ken put up?"

"Everyone, does the forest look...off to you?" Hawkmon noted, pointing out what should have been obvious rot and decay around the base of the spire and spreading outward. Plants wilted, grass dried, and trees seemed to sag as if on the brink of death. Yolei folded her arms, "Now that you mention it, it looks like this place needs a good gardener."

"It probably has to do with this," TK patted the side of the tower and noted how cold it was, "We should destroy it before Arukenimon gets to it!"

"All you, dude," Davis patted TK's back. TK and Pegasusmon were both taken aback by Davis's willingness to let them go first, "Really?"

"Veemon's not around," he answered sheepishly, "You two can take care of it while the rest of us run ahead."

And just like that, Davis made his real reason known to all of them. He really just wanted to be around Kari without what he perceived as competition. Pegasusmon shook his head and waited for TK's call, "Yeah. You guys run ahead and find Agumon. We'll catch up!"

"Thanks TK," Kari nodded to Davis's frustration, "But it was my idea!"

She had already gone ahead with Gatomon while TK mounted Pegasusmon, both eyeing up the control spire and wondering how many more they'd have to take down on File Island alone. Yolei raised an eyebrow, "Why don't we just digivolve our partners? It'd be faster and we won't have to climb that!"

She pointed straight at the vertical incline that was the side of Infinity Mountain. Now that they were closer, Davis realized he had to tilt his head all the way back just to see the top which disappeared into clouds above. He rubbed his sore neck and agreed, "Yeah, that might be a good idea."

"Not to be a bother, but someone better tell Kari before she decides to climb the side of the mountain," Hawkmon pointed out to all of them, "Preferably someone who Gatomon won't attack with her claws."

"Right, right. I'll get her," Davis took off after Kari. Yolei sighed and placed her hands on her hips, "How come I don't have any boys chasing after me like that?"

"Ironic, wouldn't you say, that the holder of the DigiEgg of Love is having trouble in that department," Hawkmon observed with a cheeky smile. Yolei looked at her partner timidly, obviously jealous of the attention that others would afford Kari, "She's a nice girl. But I have to admit I'm kind of jealous of her sometimes."

As if the timing couldn't be better, the control spire beside them was destroyed in a brilliant display of light, kicking up a small gust of wind before dissipating into data. Against this display, Hawkmon patted her leg and stated, "Don't be Yolei. You'll find a human boy sooner or later. At least, that's what they'd say in those shows you watch."

Yolei couldn't help but be amused by Hawkmon's sentiment, even if he was basing it entirely on a fictional tv show. A TV show that the others had been disgusted by not that long ago. She patted her partner's back, "Come on. We'd better hurry!"

"RAWR!"

"Yolei! Duck!" TK shouted from above. She turned in time to see a Kuwagamon dive down to attack. She and Hawkmon dove for the ground, feeling the wind rush past as the digimon just missed them. Kuwagamon's attack was accompanied by Arukenimon's shrill laugh, appearing from atop a tree top, "Oh you poor digidestined. I think you're getting too comfortable with breaking things that aren't yours."

"But we were ahead of you!" Yolei whined, ignoring everything Arukenimon had just said.

"Where are the others who were chasing you?" Hawkmon demanded pressing himself back up to face the woman. She smiled and produced a flute from within her dress, brandishing it before them, "Oh? Worried for them? I'd be more worried about yourselves if I were you."

"Ominous," TK mused from his partner's back. Unfortunately, Pegasusmon didn't share his enthusiasm, "She's trying to kill us TK!"

"Yeah I know," TK nodded, tightening his grip on Pegasusmon's armor, "Do it, Pegasusmon!"

Pegasusmon dove down straight at her. Not to be outdone, Yolei raised her digivice above her head, "Ready partner?"

"Always!" Hawkmon flew straight into the air and transformed in a flash of light into his digiarmor form of Halsemon. Arukenimon stared Halsemon down as he dove straight at her, then pressed the flute to her lips. The song that followed was strange, lacking rhythm or harmony but it was still beautiful in a way none of them could describe. Halsemon was distracted by it for only a second, but that second was enough for him to be tackled from the side by Digmon. Even Pegasusmon had to stop his dive to see what had happened - Digmon and Halsemon grappling with each other in the air until Halsemon finally shook him off, "Digmon!? What are you doing?"

Digmon answered by leaping into the air firing a barrage of missiles at him, "GOLD RUSH!"

"How does this answer my question?" Halsemon complained, fleeing away from the pursuing missiles. From below, Yolei watched the spectacle disbelievingly, "Great. First Davis kills a digimon and now we're being attacked by cheap knock offs of our partners!"

"It's probably just another spire digimon," Halsemon reasoned, circling in the air and attacking again from above, "Let's destroy it and move on!"

"Where's Cody? And Ken?" TK asked, only to be answered with more of her strange song. As if beckoning the call, a swarm made of hundreds of wasp like digimon with countless sharp talons for piercing appeared. They dove at him and Pegasusmon with the stingers on their abdomens, ready to throw the boy and his partner down. Pegasusmon immediately dove for cover in the trees, aware that they could easily encircle him out in the open skies and hoping that some would crash straight into the trees if they pursued.

"Great! Flymon!" Pegasusmon groaned, "Aren't we all popular all of a sudden. Do you think those are control spire digimon too?"

"They have to be, but there's too many to fight here. Let's get out of here!" TK looked back, watching several get caught in the tree branches while others slammed straight into the tree trunks. Their larger numbers made it harder for them to maneuver in such a tight space like the forest and gave Pegasusmon the opening he needed to ascend back above the trees. At the apex of his ascent, he turned back around to face his pursuers and readied to attack, "STAR SHOWER!"

The digimon scattered as they ascended past the trees, the attack failing as it collided with the tree tops where most of the swarm was still under. One of the falling stars did manage to hit its mark and the Flymon screamed before bursting into data. TK and Pegasusmon were stunned, unable to believe what they'd just witnessed. These digimon were real. Arukenimon laughed, stopping her song to mock them, "Some heroes. You attack the very digimon you're here to save!"

"She's tricking us just like Myotismon," TK growled, angrier than he'd ever been. In that brief moment that she'd stopped playing, the Flymon and Digmon paused in their tracks. The Flymon became disoriented for a moment, looking around them in a daze. Digmon merely shook his head, "Uh, what happened Cody? Where are we?"

Before either Yolei or Halsemon could answer, Arukenimon took up her flute again and started playing. Her oddly hypnotic song sent the Flymon back into a mad frenzy and they darted for Pegasusmon.

"Yolei! They're real!" TK announced to her. She'd seen it too though, and looked at Digmon wearily - that digimon was Cody's partner and not another spire digimon in disguise. But how? Cody wouldn't turn on them. Then again he'd been left with Ken. Ken was on their side now, right? And it wasn't like he was being evil for no reason. No. This wasn't right. Digmon had been normal for a moment. Confused but normal. It had to be Arukenimon. She was doing something. But what?

"What?" Halsemon looked away from Digmon a second too long and was slammed into the side. He learned first hand at that moment just how painful Digmon's drills were when they were turned on him. Halsemon roared in pain, using his talons to kick Digmon away but trying not to harm his friend in the process. TK and Pegasusmon were too preoccupied to help, fleeing from the oncoming swarm of Flymon. Once again, the horse dove into the trees to try and lose them in the forest and it paid off as the swarm crashed into trees and other obstacles in their way.

Just as Pegasusmon thought he'd managed to outmaneuver the swarm of Flymon, Kuwagamon emerged from the trees to take another swipe at the flying pair. TK groaned, "I am so sick of being attacked by that guy!"

"What do we do?" Pegasusmon asked his partner, hoping TK at least had some kind of plan to deal with the attacking digimon. TK racked his brain, trying to think of what they could do. They had attacked normal digimon before but those digimon had been evil - that was a given. These digimon weren't evil though. There was only one thing to do, "RUN!"

* * *

Davis continued after Kari, wondering just how far she and Gatomon had gotten with their head start and contemplating if she was secretly a member of track-and-field. He finally found her when he got to the base of the mountain, seeing her and Gatomon running up a trail that ran along the side. He shouted at them, "Kari! Gatomon! Wait up!"

The two stopped in their tracks to see him, Kari looking anxious while Gatomon appearing impatient. At that exact moment that they'd stopped, both girls felt something wet and sticky fall on them from above. Gatomon shivered, "Oh come on! I just cleaned myself this morning! I am…not going to lick this off."

"Ew," Kari tried to wipe the sticky slime off her head but found that only spread it around more. She looked up to see what caused such a horrible slime and wished she hadn't. The arachnid digimon Dokugumon descended on them from above with drool dripping from its toothed maw. She and Gatomon ran back down the trail towards Davis who was shouting at them to hurry. Dokugumon hissed at her prey for trying to run and spat out webs at the two girls, catching them both and wrapping them tight so that they couldn't leave. If its mouth was able to smile, then its smile looked famished and ready to eat.

"KARI!" Davis shouted after her, watching as Dokugumon reeled them both in. Instead of eating though, Dokugumon retreated to a large web resting between two stone outcroppings on the side of the mountain. And caught in that web were Ken, Cody, and Paildramon. They were shouting something but were too high up to be heard. Davis cursed, "Oh shit. What do I do?"

He had to run back and get help. But if he did, Dokugumon would certainly eat one of them. He looked up the trail that ran up the side of the mountain and realized this would be worse than any of the running drills from soccer practice. Before he even started running, he typed a quick message on his D-Terminal to TK and Yolei, hoping one of them would get the message and come to help. With one last deep breath, Davis took off at a sprint up the trail and towards Dokugumon.

The others were screaming something at him but they were too far away for him to hear. Instead he tried focusing on putting one foot in front of the other, ignoring the burning pain in his legs or his heart pounding to get out of his chest. The trail turned and weaved, becoming narrower and more dangerous the closer he got to the top but he had no time to slow down. He just kept hurrying until he eventually got to just above where the web was. Dokugumon carefully placed both Kari and Gatomon there, ignoring their pleas to be let go and Paildramon's threats of violence, "Let me go right now or I'll find a big newspaper and swat you with it! _Good plan ExVeemon._ Don't patronize me. _Don't be stupid then._ "

"Hours. They've been doing this for hours," Ken groaned, hanging upside and obviously uncomfortable from all the blood rushing to his head. Cody looked at them, "Stop arguing you two. One? Whatever you are now! We need to get out and help Digmon!"

"We just better hope that Davis can find a way to help us first," Kari said to the others. Gatomon commented, "Or that he has the sense to call for help."

"Give him some credit guys," Paildramon reasoned, "He's a lot smarter than he lets on."

"We know," Cody replied, "It's the acting without thinking part that worries us."

"I already messaged TK and Yolei," Davis shouted down at them. The captive group collectively looked up, relieved to see him. Unfortunately for Davis, he'd also caught Dokugumon's attention and the spider hurried towards him. Davis gulped and began retreating, "OH CRAP!"

"Welp. We're boned," Ken said dryly as the spider rushed past, earning him a disgusted look from Cody for his choice in language. After a second's consideration, Ken went on to add, "Then again, he might be able to pull off a miracle with his luck."

Gatomon looked at the former emperor in annoyance, "What luck? His partner's tied up, he's being chased by a spider more than twice his size, and he gave himself away before he had any plan to help us."

"True," Ken nodded, "But as Tamer would put it-"

"Don't quote Tamer at me right now," Gatomon snarled, looking up the mountain with an annoyed look, "I mean Agumon is supposed to be up there, right? What the hell is he doing and how is he missing everything that's going on?"

"It'd be kind of hard to hear the screaming from here," Kari pointed out, which just annoyed Gatomon more. At that exact moment, TK and Pegasusmon rushed past them while pursued by an army of Flymon and a Kuwagamon. Gatomon looked over at Kari, "And how is Agumon missing that?"

Unsure of how to respond, Kari nervously changed the subject to Cody, "Cody, where's Armadillomon?"

Cody looked away quietly, "Arukenimon attacked us as soon as we caught up to her. Paildramon went to fight and Armadillomon joined in. But the moment he became Digmon, something happened. I don't know why but he turned on us and wouldn't stop attacking. And then we got surrounded. Paildramon tried to fight them off…but…"

Cody paused and became quiet so Ken answered for him, "The digimon we were fighting weren't spire digimon. They were real. Or as real as digital beings can be. Then we both had a crisis of conscious that kept us from being able to fight back."

"Wait, so that Dokugumon is real?" Kari gasped, looking back up at direction Davis ran, "Davis is in trouble. If he thinks its a spire digimon, he might-"

"Might what? It's not like he can do anything," Gatomon reminded them all quietly. At that moment Kari wished she could move so that she could reach for her digivice to help Gatomon digivolve. For now, it looked like their only hope would be to wait for either Davis to come back alive or for one of the others to notice they were in trouble.

* * *

On another part of the island, Halsemon flew away from Digmon as he charged again with another round of drill attacks. Beneath them, Yolei was utterly helpless to do anything about Digmon's mindless assault. To compound the problem, Davis had just sent them a message stating that Kari and the others were caught in a web by a giant spider. She messaged him back quickly, hoping to warn him that the digimon were real but doubted that he'd be able to read the message if he was in as much trouble as she was.

They just had to wait for the next opening, when Digmon staggered in confusion and unsure of what he'd been doing. She had to be doing something to control the digimon, but she couldn't quite place what it was.

At that exact moment, she stopped playing her flute to take a breath and Digmon staggered again. Just above them, she could see the Flymon stop their chase for a moment as if they were at a loss. It had to be the flute! Something about the sound or the music was controlling Digmon and the other insect digimon, like a moth using vibrations to confuse bats. She just had to stop her from playing the flute again.

She called out to her partner, "Halsemon! Attack Arukenimon when Digmon stops next."

"I'm a little busy, right now!" Halsemon gasped, weaving through the air as Digmon rained missiles upon him at every chance, "How are you going to do that?"

"You'll see," Yolei said. In a move that would've made Davis proud for its boldness, Yolei picked up the first rock she found and threw it with all her might at Arukenimon. Unfortunately for her, a lifetime of trying to avoid gym class resulted in the stone falling short of Arukenimon. As gutsy as it was, her plan was also incredibly stupid.

Arukenimon stopped playing her flute to grimace at her, "Please tell me that wasn't your best throw."

"It got you to stop playing, didn't it?" Yolei asked with a dumb smile, trying to keep Arukenimon talking just a little bit longer so that she didn't start her flute again. Arukenimon sighed, "Yes, we're all very proud of you. You managed to stop me for all of five seconds. Now if you'll excuse me, it's time for the fin-"

She was cut off as Halsemon slammed into her like a truck, knocking the flute out of her hands and throwing her to the ground. Arukenimon clicked her tongue angrily, "Is that how you treat a lady?"

"Give it a rest!" Halsemon growled, to which she replied, "How about you take a rest."

In a dramatic display of strength, she raised Halsemon over her head and body slammed him to the ground. Yolei scrambled for the flute while Halsemon kept her distracted, intent on making sure she didn't start playing it again by breaking it if she had to. The metal pipe felt good and solid in her hand, but a few good swings at a tree should've been enough to break it. She swung it as hard as she could, but only managed to peel a surface layer of bark off the trunk. So she did the next best thing and began bashing it against rocks. If she couldn't break it, she could at least damage it enough that it wouldn't play right. Behind her, she heard Halsemon shout out once Arukenimon kicked him off and started beating the flute as hard as she could. She could already hear Arukenimon's angry footsteps getting closer, prompting Yolei to start hitting it faster. Just as the footsteps reached her, Yolei spun around to hit Arukenimon with it.

The woman caught it in her hand and seized Yolei by the collar of her shirt, "You little...that flute was a gift! I liked that flute and you went and ruined it! I'll kill you!"

"Now hold on there, partner," Digmon has finally returned to his senses and joined them, "Put the girl down before I have to dig a hole to bury you in."

Arukenimon clicked her tongue, and dropped Yolei, "You broke my flute this time but it won't stop me from getting to Agumon first."

"We can fly," Yolei stammered from the ground, "What have you got?"

"Time. Dokugumon and Kuwagamon aren't under my control anymore but they're still ravenous carnivores. I give your friends maybe five minutes before she starts eating them," Arukenimon smiled sweetly, enjoying the concerned look on their faces, "I wouldn't tarry too long if you care for their well being. Ta!"

"She's right. We don't have time for this," Yolei frowned, looking up as TK and Pegasusmon darted overhead again with Kuwagamon still in hot pursuit. The Flymon were still there but they were dispersing as soon as they saw Kuwagamon was on the hunt. Halsemon stretched his wings and legs, we'd better go help them."

"Yeah," Yolei mounted Halsemon's back and gestured to Digmon, "Are you okay to go after Cody and Ken? Davis said the spider web is on the side of the mountain."

"No sweat. I'll just dig up the side and free them that way," Digmon nodded, then ran towards the mountain and his partner.

* * *

Davis was completely out of breath now and would have given anything to stop. Dokigumon's snarling teeth and drooling maw were all the encouragement he needed to just keep running though. He didn't know how high up the mountain he'd gone by now, since he couldn't afford to look anywhere but the trail directly ahead of him. Loose dirt, roots that might be in his path, slippery dirt; all things he had to maneuver around as he ran. The only thing he didn't expect was an elderly man in a long blue coat hiking up the trail, using a cane to support himself.

"Look out!" Davis shouted at the man. He stopped to look back at Davis, then saw Dokugumon chasing him and readied his cane like a bat. Just as Davis ran past, the man swung his cane and swatted Dokugumon on the head, "No! Bad spider! Shoo!"

Dokugumon snarled and spread its arms to attack But was struck again by the cane hitting its head, "I said shoo!"

Dokugumon answered by ripping the cane from the old man's hand and swallowing it in its massive maw. The digimon burped up splinters and returned its attention to the two. The old man frowned, "Well this is a spot of bother, isn't it?"

Dokugumon bore its teeth and stepped around them, slowly pushing them back until they had their backs against the cliff face. The old man sighed, "Backed over the edge by a spider. I wish I could say I was happy but this isn't how I imagined this. Oh, what a way for me to go."

Davis took one look behind them, at the drop that awaited them, then back at Dokugumon. The way its legs were bent caught his attention as it didn't look like it was going to charge them. It looked as if it was going to leap at them. Which gave them less than a second to react after it jumped. He was dead tired now but this was like a game of soccer where he had to time his kick right to score at the last second. Only he couldn't afford to make a mistake. He waited for Dokugumon to rear up its legs, then dove at the old man at the same moment that Dokugumon leapt into the air.

Dokugumon's leap threw it over the edge of the cliff, where it plummeted down to the forest below. Davis looked down, sickened of the outcome and certain he'd get flack for another digimon's death. Even if digimon didn't technically die. To his amazement, despite the height, he could see Dokugumon all the way at the bottom of the fall, hissing at them from bottom. It was already starting its climb back up the side of the mountain but it would take it a long time to get back up. More than enough time for him to go back and free the others. "Thank you for your help young man. Tell me, who are you?"

Davis looked back at the old man struggling get back to his feet and offered him a hand up, "It's Davis. This is a long way up dude. What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I make this trip every year to see the temple at the top," the old man replied, "Things have quieted down now that Devimon isn't around, and the sight at the top is beautiful. But at my age, once a year is the most I can do."

"Bummer," Davis frowned, helping to dust the man off before starting back towards the others, "I have to go back and help my friends. No offense, but I think I'd skip the trip this year. It might get a little crazy up there later."

"I may be old but there's little I can't handle," the old man replied, "Tarry not and help your friends. I'll see you at the top if that's where you're all headed. May-haps we can share the view."

"Uh sure," Davis nodded before hurrying back down the side trail, looking back once to see the old man continue up the trail. It was odd to see another person here but that wasn't the center of his attention at that moment. Helping the others, especially Kari, was at the center of his attention. He found them still hanging from the web, struggling to get free but ultimately stuck to whatever part of the web they were on.

"Looks like you were wrong, Gatomon," Cody stated matter of factly, "You owe me your milk."

"It's not like it'll help you get any taller," Gatomon rolled her eyes, "What happened to that nasty bug?"

"It fell off the cliff," Davis answered, examining the web for a way to free them. The silky strands were thick and and stronger than they seemed to be able to hold them all up. He got down on his belly and reached for one strand with his right arm, "Don't worry! I'll get you guys free!"

"Davis! Don't! That's one of the-" Ken started and stopped as Davis took the strand in his hand, "-sticky strands. Great, now you're stuck."

"What are you talking about. It's fi-" Davis spoke too soon. He took his hand off the strand but his glove stayed put, "Huh. Well now what?"

"You have to reach using the non sticky strands. Follow the ones that were not attached too!" Ken shouted at him. Davis looked at the spindly web and frowned, confused by the mess of strands, "They all look sticky dude!"

"Don't you pay attention in class?" Cody asked, "The spiral part of the web is sticky! The rest of the web, the parts stretching to the edges are safe to touch."

"What class did we learn that in!?" Davis shouted back disbelievingly, annoyed that he was expected to know such a random fact. Cody answered, "Biology! In my grade!"

"I'm supposed to remember a stupid random fact from years ago?" Davis grunted, following Cody's instruction and grabbing hold of another part of the web with his other gloved hand. When his glove didn't stick to that one, he went to work trying to pry it free from the mountain face. All the while, he had to listen to Ken answer, "I knew that."

"You're a genius! You don't count!" Davis grunted back, until Kari chimed in, "I knew that too."

"Hey, I'm not the one caught on the web," Davis protested as he finally managed to dig that strand free. The web sagged as if adjusted to losing one of its anchoring strands and steadied, everyone gasping as it shook. Once it steadied, Davis started on the next strand.

"So...not to be mean but what happens after you cut the web loose?" Cody asked him, "Because I don't like the idea of falling to our deaths."

"Easy, Paildramon gets free and catches you guys!" Davis answered. Ken clicked his tongue, "I have a better idea. Davis! Are the lenses of your goggles curved or flat?"

"Huh? Flat, why?" Davis asked, finally freeing the next strand of web and moving further down the line. Ken frowned and clicked his tongue, "I was going to have you use you goggles like a magnifying glass to light the web on fire. But never mind."

"Wouldn't that just light us on fire?" Gatomon raised an eyebrow while Ken looked away in embarrassment, "I thought you were the smart one!"

" _Ken's having an off day, leave him alone._ Yeah, leave him alone," Paildramon said in his defense while Gatomon sighed, "Can only Stingmon talk from now on? It's confusing to have you both talk with one voice."

Just as Davis was about to start on the next strand, Digmon appeared beside him, "Would it help if I took a shot at that?"

Davis grimaced upon seeing him since it meant losing his chance to shine in Kari's eyes but he couldn't complain if it meant freeing her. However, Cody's alarmed tone had him panicking, "Digmon! Look out, Davis! Digmon's behind you."

Cody's tone shift hurt his partner but Digmon explained, "It's alright, now. Yolei freed me. So what's going on?"

"I'm trying to get these guys free," Davis pushed himself off the dirt, "Got any ideas?"

"I was thinking I'd just unwind them," Digmon replied, digging one of his drills into one of the sticky strands and smiling, "Hang on everybody. This is going to be rough for all of us."

Cody realized what was about to happen and shouted, "Wait, Digmon don't-"

It was too late. Digmon spun up his drills and reeled in the spider web. It helped to break the strands from their holds, but also led to the others screaming as they were whipped around at high speed. It didn't take long for the G forces to become too much, snapping the web and sending the kids flying through the air. Now that they were free - Kari used her digivice to digivolve Gatomon while Paildramon caught Cody and Ken. From the ledge, Davis watched with his mouth hanging wide open in disbelief - mostly for the fact that they survived such a feat. Davis turned to Digmon, "I thought astronaut training was intense."

"Why are you complaining? I'm the one covered in spider webs now," Digmon pointed out, trying to wipe the remaining webs off his drill and body. As the others rejoined them, Cody stated, "I appreciate your help Digmon. But please don't do that ever again."

"Seconded," Nefertimon sighed.

* * *

TK and Pegasusmon weaved through the air as Kuwagamon gave chase, trying to lose it in the forest but watching it break through any obstacle in its path. It was ridiculous how determined Kuwagamon was long after the Flymon had broken off to do whatever it was they did. TK tried to think of a way to stop Kuwagamon without killing it but was uncertain of how to do that. At least until Halsemon appeared to strike it out of the air. On his back was Yolei waving to get TK's attention. TK blinked disbelievingly, "Yolei!? What are you doing?"

"I have an idea, but we have to hurry back to Infinity Mountain!" Yolei called back, gasping and clinging on to Halsemon for dear life as Kuwagamon shook free of her. TK looked at the ravenous maw of the digimon, "And the plan is?"

"Kuwagamon's basically just ripping through everything, right?" Yolei reasoned, "So why don't we just steer him towards-"

She paused as Halsemon moved out of the bug's path before continuing, "-the side of the mountain. I don't care how tough he is. With how fast he's flying, he'll either bury himself in the mountain or slam into it like a fly on a windshield!"

TK smiled at the ingenuity of the idea, "You're a freaking genius, Yolei!"

"Alright, follow me," Halsemon shouted as he darted ahead. Pegasusmon followed along towards Spiral Mountain, zigzagging as they flew to keep Kuwagamon from catching up to them. A few times, the giant bug got too close and its maw narrowly missed the two digimon. At the last stretch, both digimon flew as fast as they could towards the mountain with Kuwagamon hot on their heels. They waited until the last second to split up, turning different directions to throw off Kuwagamon for a second; one-second long enough for it to crash full force into the mountain. The mountain shook from the collision, Kuwagamon briefly going limp before sliding down the mountain slowly. Pegasusmon noted, "You have to give it credit! Its hard head probably saved its life this time."

"Where did the others go?" TK looked around the mountain side. Somewhere above them, they heard Davis shout, "Hey! Up here!"

He and the rest of the group were above them on a ledge a quarter of the way up the mountain, Ken just slightly off to the side from the rest of the group with Davis standing closer than anyone else. TK breathed a sigh of relief, glad to see they were okay and rejoined them. Yolei was the first one to ask, "Is everyone alright?"

"I will be once my head stops spinning," Nefertimon answered with a glance at Digmon, cowing the digimon. Ken buried his face in his hands, mumbling about how everything they did lacked basic common sense. Cody urged them, "We need to be careful of Arukenimon. Whatever trick she was using to control Digmon could work with any of our digimon."

"No sweat! I broke her flute already! She can't do anything now," Yolei said cheerily.

"More importantly, we need to get to Agumon before she does," Kari said anxiously, looking ahead to the summit. TK assured her, "Hey! Our digimon can fly. That gives us one huge advantage that she doesn't have."

"Then let's stop wasting time already and hurry. She may not be able to fly but she still beat us here," Ken rushed them along, joining Paildramon. The group hurried on their partners, Cody and Armadillomon getting a ride on Pegasusmon. About halfway to the top, they saw Arukenimon standing on the trail with a smile on her face. Before any of them had a chance to attack her, she ripped a large patch of hair from her head and let loose, "Spirit Needle!"

The hairs darted off in every direction, and the digidestined watched every control spire in sight come to life. Davis looked around at them, then to Ken, "We've been blowing these things up since we first got here! How many spires did you put on this island?"

"Well over a thousand," Ken stated, "At last count, there were about a hundred or so. I think."

"What do you mean you think?" Cody snapped at him, "Do you know or don't you?"

"I don't...remember," Ken scratched his head, trying to rack his brain for an answer to that question. Cody scoffed at Ken's sudden forgetfulness and looked at TK, "We need to stop whatever it is she's making before...whatever it is is born!"

"One spire usually made a champion level digimon, ten made an ultimate level," Ken thought aloud, "We better hope she's making ten Ultimates."

"Level digimon? What are you talking about?" Cody asked, answered by Nefertimon, "The level after Ultimate is Mega. Remember that giant monster that attacked Tokyo years ago? VenomMyotismon? He was a Mega."

The collective silence spoke volumes, broken only when Paildramon handed Ken and Davis to Nefertimon and Halsemon respectively, "Yeah, right! Leave it to me!"

Paildramon darted off towards where the spires were gathering, coalescing to take a single solid shape. Two blades extended from Paildramon's arms and he dove at the heart of it just as the shape solidified into a form that made the Stingmon side of Paildramon falter. The ExVeemon half felt it right away when their shared body stumbled in the air and they were grabbed by the arm, held a distance away from its chest.

Even from the distance they were at, Ken, Kari, Nefertimon, TK, and Pegasusmon felt nothing but fear at the sight of the creature. Although they didn't recognize it, Cody, Armadillomon, Yolei, and Halsemon saw their reactions. And it made them afraid. More than that, they all felt something coming from it - a sensation they'd only felt in the Dark Ocean; a cold, sinking feeling without end as all the joy drained from them. And it made TK sick. Without a second's hesitation, TK told his partner, "Destroy it."

"TK, don't tell me you can't feel that?" Pegasusmon protested.

"Yes I can! That's why it has to die!" TK growled, the anger scaring everyone there. Although he'd rather flee, Pegasusmon listened to his partner and flew to help Paildramon. Cody immediately had doubts, "Is this a good idea?"

"Not a clue, Cody," TK answered bitterly. Just then, Nefertimon pulled along side them, "Pegasusmon. Let's use the Golden Noose!"

"I'm with you," he answered, the two digimon crossing paths in the air to create a golden chain of light. They guided the chain towards the creature hoping to get its midsection, but didn't expect the chain to break on contact. Both digimon jolted in the air, their partners just barely holding on while they corrected themselves in the air. The digimon turned to face the new spire digimon, still casually holding Paildramon at arm's length. It turned its head to face them, grunted, then threw Paildramon with so much force into the ground that he left a Paildramon shaped hole in the forest floor.

"Paildramon!" Davis called out to his partner. Kari looked over at TK, "Uh, did we have a plan B?"

"Before we do anything else," Armadillomon interrupted, pointing at the digimon drifting towards them, "Does anyone know what that is?"

"WarGreymon," Kari answered, "Agumon's Mega form."

It was a near perfect copy of the heroic digimon who helped save her when she was pulled into the Dark Ocean the first time. But this was different. Even if she could ignore the all black and gray color scheme, she couldn't ignore the overwhelming feeling of dread it instilled in her. TK grit his teeth and glanced at Kari, "You, Nefertimon, and Davis make a break for the top of the mountain. Pegasusmon, Armadillomon, and Halsemon will stay here and hold that...thing."

"TK, are you sure?" Kari asked, seeing the anger in the blonde's eyes and feeling unsure of who she was more afraid of. Armadillomon looked at TK, "Did ya miss the part where he turned Paildramon int'a hole in the ground?"

"None of us are going to stand a chance against that thing," TK explained, "We have to get Agumon, then we get out of here. We can hold that thing until then."

"We can?" Cody asked disbelievingly.

"We will," TK reaffirmed, "GO!"

Nefertimon tried to break away from them but was stopped right away when the WarGreymon doppelgänger moved in front of her. Nefertimon stopped just short of a collision, so close that she could see her reflection on its chest armor. It leered, speaking with a deep gravelly voice, "It's rude to talk about someone in front of them."

"It talks," Nefertimon gasped, flapping her wings to glide away from it. The creature drifted forward towards her, "And that's another thing. I have a name. It's BlackWarGreymon."

Before BlackWarGreymon could get any closer to Nefertimon, Pegasusmon maneuvered himself between them, "Leave them alone."

"Or what?" BlackWarGreymon gestured at the ground, "You'll attack me like that one down there?"

Pegasusmon did his best not to flinch but did blink, which annoyed BlackWarGreymon, "Hmph. Coward. You're not even worth my time."

"BlackWarGreymon!" Arukenimon called out to them from the forest below, "Why aren't you destroying them!?"

"Who are you?" BlackWarGreymon turned on her, watching as she too seemed cowed by him. Her lip trembled but she declared with all the confidence she could muster, "I am Arukenimon! I am the one who made you! I gave you life and you will obey me! Destroy them!"

BlackWarGreymon tilted his head. It was odd to see this happen again after what happened to Ken and his own inability to control Kimeramon. If history repeated itself, Arukenimon would be in serious trouble. However, BlackWarGreymon shifted his attention elsewhere towards Infinity Mountain, "Does anyone else feel that?"

"You mean crippling fear?" Armadillomon asked. BlackWarGreymon looked at the yellow armadillo, "I like you. You won't die. No, I meant that power coming this way. It's...massive. Excites me. Entices me for the fight. It's...there."

He pointed at the spot where the digidestined encountered Arukenimon moments ago. Only now it was occupied by a little orange dinosaur, looking between them and asking, "What are you guys doing making all of this racket?"

 


	32. The Destiny Stone

Agumon looked over them all, his mouth chewing on something but still managing to frown. Once he swallowed whatever was in his mouth, he pointed at Ken, "Hey Ken. Glad to see you're feeling better and that you're back in the Digital World. Unless you're here to put a ring on me again. Then this is awkward."

"No, I'm not," Ken answered sheepishly, "I see you've still got you're damn sense of humor."

"So what are you guys doing? Because I don't have enough food to feed all of you. Unless you guys like marshmallows," Agumon produced a stick with several roasted marshmallows on the end, as well as the remains of some that had been eaten, "Then I got plenty of that."

BlackWarGreymon drifted towards the little orange dinosaur, confused but eager to fight, "You're the one I feel all the power from, aren't you? You're a rookie. But there's something else. Something more just waiting to come out."

"Hi! Would you like a marshmallow?" Agumon offered him the stick in a friendly gesture, unaffected by the fear that BlackWarGreymon imbued into the others. BlackWarGreymon swatted the stick away, "No. I want to know, to test the power I can feel coming from you."

"You killed my marshmallow!" Agumon panicked, running over to the stick to dust it off, "No! Oh, I love marshmallows. What a waste. Now I have to go roast some more."

"I don't care about your marshmallows! FIGHT ME!" BlackWarGreymon growled, completely ignored as Agumon mourned his snack. Ken groaned, "Agumon, we have other things to worry about right now."

Agumon tossed the stick aside and smiled, "Right, sorry. What were we talking about?"

"BlackWarGreymon is trying to kill us!" TK shouted at Agumon, "We have to-"

TK paused when BlackWarGreymon looked over his shoulder at him, then back to Agumon. The little dinosaur put a claw to his chin, "Are you sure? I mean, he's rude but I don't think he'd murder anyone. Except my marshmallow. Never mind, he's a monster!"

"He's trying to pick a fight with you!" Nefertimon shouted, exasperated by Agumon's continued behavior, "Just drop the act and help us!"

Agumon blinked and looked at BlackWarGreymon. The mega growled, making his intent clear by running the blades on his gauntlets against each other. Agumon sighed and gestured at Nefertimon, "I don't know what you guys were fighting over but he really doesn't look that tough. He looks like he's hungry."

BlackWarGreymon roared and went to strike Agumon. The little dinosaur took a step back so that BlackWarGreymon's claw dug into the mountain side, visibly shaking the whole mountain. Agumon sighed, "See? He's so hungry that he can't even hit straight. Now let's stop this silliness and get some food. I'm hungry."

The little dinosaur stepped over BlackWarGreymon's claw and the mega roared in frustration, "Don't walk away from me!"

"Hush. Are you coming to lunch or aren't you?" Agumon said back, continuing up the mountain. They were as stunned to see him leave as quickly as he showed up, then looked to each other in confused silence broken only by BlackWarGreymon's annoyed groan, "If you don't come back here right now, I'll destroy this entire mountain!"

"Stop acting like a spoiled brat and have marshmallows with me!" Agumon answered as he disappeared around the bend. BlackWarGreymon grunted and ascended upwards to the summit, the digidestined following after quickly to help the rookie in case a fight broke out. Davis tapped Kari's shoulder, "Drop me off. I want to check on Paildramon!"

"That's right! Paildramon!" Yolei gasped, knowing Ken was probably just as worried about his partner's safety. Ken didn't say a word as Halsemon landed in the forest, beside the hole where Paildramon had fallen. Nefertimon landed not too far. Davis got to the hole first, peering down into it and calling down below, "Paildramon! Are you okay!?"

A claw emerged from the bottom of the hole, followed by another as Paildramon slowly crawled his way out. He rolled onto his back, laying there with Davis and Ken hurrying to either side. A beat followed, as Paildramon's eyes wandered between them before he stated, "Next time. One of you guys can get thrown through a wall. _Not Ken!_ Oh don't be so picky right now. _Then throw Davis down there_. I would if I could."

"I see you're still bickering somewhere in there," Ken put a hand to his partner's chest, "BlackWarGreymon should be about on par with WarGreymon in terms of strength alone, if not greater. I think the one advantage we have over him is that he probably isn't as experienced, which we might be able to press as an advantage."

" _Sounds good_ ," Paildramon paused to breathe, turning his head to look at him, " _What are you thinking_? What's happening? _Ken's coming up with a plan ExVeemon._ "

"Honestly, I don't have anything," Ken shrugged quietly, "Not by choice mind you. Most of the plans I came up with backfired because this guy here was the most unpredictable one here. If anything, it should be Davis because anything he comes up with will probably be the last thing anyone would expect."

"Yeah, I know I'm awesome," Davis smiled a big toothy grin and rested his arms behind his head, "So…right now my plan is have lunch."

"Seriously?" Yolei asked him, "We have a chance to sneak attack him and you want to eat?"

"What? I'm hungry and I bet Paildramon needs to recharge after taking a hit like that," Davis nodded at their collective partner lying on the ground. It took some effort but he was able to raise his hand to give Davis a thumbs up, "Food sounds good right now."

"Okay, so the plan is have some lunch. After that, I'm open to suggestions," Davis smiled, turning when he heard Kari giggle behind him. Her smile and giggle made his heart skip a beat in delight, until she added, "You just sounded like Tai a second ago."

Davis did his best not to sulk, forcing a smile for Kari. Once Paildramon was able to stand back up, he scooped up Davis and Ken in his arms. Together, they all ascended to the mountain.

* * *

Agumon's camp rested beside the ruins of what looked like an Ancient Greek temple. It consisted of a small campfire surrounded by sticks placed to roast marshmallows, of which there was an abundance of bags lying around. There was also a mountain of empty snack bags lying on the grounds; potato chips, chocolates, hard candies, dried fruits, and other things Agumon used to fill his stomach.

Among them was the old man who helped Davis fight off Dokugumon earlier, enjoying a nice cup of tea. Davis waved at the old man, "Hey! Glad to see you made it."

"Why, yes I did. Thank you for your help earlier," the old man nodded, smiling between sips of tea. Davis hadn't noticed before but he was very bug eyed, two large yellow bulbs that looked ready to pop out at any second. Davis felt his stomach churn just to look at him but tried not to focus on it. He didn't want to be rude to the man who beat Dokugumon back when he was defenseless. Ken whispered, "Who is that Davis?"

"No idea. He helped me out when Dokugumon was chasing me up the mountain," Davis whispered back. He didn't notice the weary look Ken had for the old man, but did notice the roasting marshmallows, "Alright! Grub!"

Agumon busily handed out the marshmallows to everyone there, and invited them to join him by the fire. BlackWarGreymon passed on the offer, muttering under his breath about wasting his time. The digidestined were more hesitant to take up the food but their digimon happily ate away at Agumon's reserves, "I guess it's a good thing I stocked up on marshmallows. I'll get some more going."

"ENOUGH OF THIS!" BlackWarGreymon howled, "I DEMAND THAT YOU FIGHT-"

Agumon shoved a stick of freshly roasted marshmallows into his mouth before he could finish, "Don't talk with your mouth full. It's rude. And don't tell me what to do! You guys were the ones making a racket. If anything, we should be talking about all those holes you put on my mountain. You may as well since I heard you guys were helping to patch up ShogunGekomon's Village."

"You heard about that?" Halsemon looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Agumon nodded, chewing on a sticky marshmallow of his own. He made a big show of swallowing his food before answering, "Sure have. You guys are doing fine by the way. You skipped a few things but TK has the right idea, by the way. Just do what comes naturally and destiny will usually sort it out one way or another. Remember what Tamer said! Little things don't matter, as long as the broad strokes are the same. Or something like that."

"But what about Myotismon? He's the reason we came looking for you," TK added quickly, "Tamer's kept information from us before, especially important information we really needed to know. Not to mention that he showed up at our school in the middle school section."

Agumon looked at him and raised a quizzical eyebrow, "Didn't you guys get the message he left for Wizardmon to give to you?"

"Yeah, million points of light. Strength not enough to defeat the darkness," Cody repeated by heart, "It was all very vague and kinda useless. We still have a lot of questions and we're looking for answers."

"Really? I thought it was all being too obvious, y'know?" Agumon answered with raised eyebrows, "I kept telling The Digimon Tamer to not make it so obvious."

Nefertimon couldn't believe what she was hearing and asked, "Well since it's so obvious, do you mind telling us what any of that message meant?"

"Alright, what do you want to know? When Myotismon is coming back? What to do about this guy?" Agumon gestured at BlackWarGreymon, "Ooh! I know, how about what you all grow up to be? Spoiler alert: a handful of your jobs come out of left field. I mean, most of them made sense but some of you do things that just…made no sense. Tamer has a field day trying to figure out what happened to Matt."

"Wait, what happens to Matt?" TK worried, scared for his brother's well being. The opportunity to have such knowledge far in advance was tempting and Agumon was about to answer the question. However Ken dissuaded them by interrupting, "It's probably better if you don't know anything that far ahead. It might affect your drive or desire to actually get there. And who knows what might happen if it's something you don't want. Imagine finding out that you're going to die young. You might do something you regret trying to avoid that."

"Aw, are you sure? It's really juicy!" Agumon leaned with a teasing smirk, turning to Ken with wink, "Unrelated note: do you prefer girls with glasses or without?"

Ken blinked, then sighed when he realized what Agumon was trying to do, "What does that matter? As long as they're a good person, appearance shouldn't matter. Also, stop trying to tell me my future. Wouldn't Tamer frown on that sort of thing?"

"Oh he would. But Tamer's not here," Agumon nodded, pausing only to retrieve a digivice from beside the campfire, "Not physically anyway."

Armadillomon pointed at it, "Is that there the memory thing that Andromon was talkin' about?"

"No, this is a digivice," Agumon replied smartly, "But it has the back up of Tamer's memories, personality, likes and dislikes, everything. So, in a way, Tamer is here."

With a cheery tone and an outreached hand, Kari asked, "Can we have it? We can finally set Tai's memories right and fix all of this!"

Agumon pulled the digivice close and frowned, "Sorry. No can do."

"What! Why not?" Kari gasped, disheartened to be turned down so quickly. Agumon looked the girl over, understanding her sorrowful look and sighed, "So…remember Dragomon? That octopus dragon thing that you met in the Dark Ocean. Well, The Digimon Tamer and I paid him a visit because he was…acting out of turn like Tamer would put it. That's a good phrase, acting out of turn. I should use it more often. Anyway, the plan was pay him a visit to get him leave you guys alone and then threaten him with some Ancient tech if he didn't comply. Things were going well until Tamer…well, was Tamer. Dragomon became angry and was spoiling for a fight. Which we couldn't do because destiny and reasons. You know the drill. So we used the Insertion Protocol to hide his true identity and make it so Dragomon couldn't find him or you."

"But he already found us," Nefertimon explained, frustrated at Agumon explaining most of what they already knew, "On our way here, we got sucked into that dark world when we passed over a whirlpool and-"

"It was probably just because you were close to a weak point between worlds. Just avoid those and you should be fine," Agumon dismissed her concerns with a wave, "No offense, but looking for you guys is like looking for an ant in a farm that only grows ant hills. That's why Tamer made himself human and went to your world. To hide from Dragomon. That's also why I have his digivice. Now he's just like any other ant in an ant farm."

"But why though?"

"Dragomon was chasing us through some kind of extra sensory perception. Ancients like The Tamer are practically beacons for that sort of thing. And for a digimon as strong as Dragomon, he could follow that beacon anywhere he wanted to," Agumon finished, "So, y'know, become an ant and hide in the farm."

"So Tai became Taichi because of that? Then who's doing whatever Tamer usually does? I thought safe guarding reality was what the whole war was fought over!" Nefertimon pointed a claw at Agumon. The little dinosaur thumbed at himself, "Yo. Although, I'm not as proactive and obsessed The Tamer is. I figure that as long as you guys are okay, you're doing whatever you're supposed to be doing and everything else is less important. He's going to have a major headache whenever he gets back though."

Agumon chuckled to himself, as if recalling a joke only he knew the punch line to. Once he calmed down, he looked at the others, "So that leaves the question of what do you guys do then."

"I want to know what it'll take to get Tai back!" Kari demanded more than asked, "When does that happen?"

"Only when one of two things happens: first, the heat dies down and Dragomon forgets about all this. The other is that something so bad happens that Tamer has to step in. Then I'll turn him back."

"So what are we supposed to do about Myotismon?" Cody asked angrily. Agumon tilted his head, "I wouldn't worry about it until you guys get there. Besides, I'd be more worried about Arukenimon and BlackWarGreymon over here."

"FINALLY!" BlackWarGreymon pulled the stick of marshmallows out of his mouth, "It's time for our bout!"

"Oh, I meant more be afraid of the fact he's probably the first spire digimon to actually question Arukenimon," Agumon answered, "Which means he can think for himself. Isn't that a terrifying thought? Imagine if your toy could decided it didn't want to play with you."

"What are you babbling about?" BlackWarGreymon growled, throwing the stick at Agumon's feet. The little orange dinosaur was unimpressed and calmly explained, "I'm just saying, most spire digimon are made to do whatever Arukenimon wants. They don't get free will. They can't question her or challenge her or anything because they lack the ability to think for themselves. They're basically slaves. But not only can you think for yourself, you've practically been ignoring her one order since you showed up and that was to kill these guys."

The digidestined panicked when Agumon gestured at them but he laughed, "So…the way I see it, that means you're free to do what you want. Go on vacation, have some snacks, watch all the movies, travel the Digital World and see the sights. Whatever. But that makes you just slightly more dangerous than Ken there. Really it all depends on you."

"What I want is to fight you!" BlackWarGreymon growled. Agumon grimaced, "Yeah, but why though? Why not literally do anything else? Take up a hobby like knitting, become the greatest chef ever, grow some vegetables in a garden, maybe take up painting, I don't know. Why waste any of your time fighting if you can choose not to? You could be so much better. Why choose to be just like every other spire digimon - after mindless battle?"

"What else is there besides the thrill of battle?" BlackWarGreymon growled. Agumon shrugged, "I thought I came up with good examples. You guys have any better ones?"

"You could always go with soccer," Davis said with a toothy grin, "Although, I think I'd be able to take you no problem."

"I'm in the computer club, but I've been kinda busy lately with DigiWorld," Yolei frowned, "I feel like I never go lately to be honest. But you could do that!"

"What else is there _that I care about_?" BlackWarGreymon seethed angrily. Agumon sighed and produced Tamer's digivice, "Well, I've spent my time keeping an eye on Tamer here. Not to mention guarding the Destiny Stone over there. Never thought we'd find one again to be honest."

He gestured at a large cylindrical rock floating inside the temple. A golden ring emblazoned with the language of the Ancients wrapped around the stone, seeming to be part of the stone work itself. TK and Pegasusmon swapped glances, wondering if that stone had been there since their first adventure in the Digital World and wondering why no one ever thought to mention it.

"What's a Destiny Stone?" Ken's interest was peeked, hearing yet again the word that Tamer and Agumon often repeated. Agumon shrugged, "I 'unno. Tamer made a big deal of it though. Said something about fate of reality and blah blah blah."

"Y'know, you care a lot less about destiny when he's not around," Nefertimon pointed to the dinosaur who smiled eagerly, "Destiny is his thing. Not mine. Mine is snacks. And also making sure he doesn't kill himself with whatever he's doing. I don't mind helping him do things when he asks, but given the choice I'll always take the snacks. Any who, he said to protect them with my life no matter what and that no one can destroy them. Ever. Which is why I've been…whoa, hey, where are you going BlackWarGreymon?"

"If protecting this stone means so much to you, let's see what happens when I reduce it to rubble. Maybe it'll finally make you raise your claws and fight!" BlackWarGreymon growled. Agumon ran as fast as his little feet could carry, and slid to a stop in front of the digimon, "WHOA! Don't even think about it! That stone is my responsibility!"

BlackWarGreymon leered, "Why should I care what you say? You won't fight me unless I destroy this stone. If that's what it takes, then that's what I'll do!"

Agumon's shoulders slumped, "It really means that much to you, huh? Alright. Fine. Hey guys. Do me a favor and hang back. This'll get…violent."

"Oh bother," the old man suddenly fled as fast as his old legs could carry him, with the digidestined following just behind him in fear. Once they were a safe distance away, Agumon looked at BlackWarGreymon, "Y'know I really don't want to do this. PEPPER BREATH!"

Agumon spat out a ball of fire that hit BlackWarGreymon in the face. It didn't hurt him but it did confuse the mega level digimon as he tried to extinguish the flames. Once Agumon had his opening, he ran straight at the Mega and kicked his shin as he ran past. Unfortunately for Agumon, his leg was no match for the metal plating of BlackWarGreymon's shin guard and he hopped back in pain, "Ow! Okay, bad idea."

BlackWarGreymon extinguished the flames and growled at the rookie, "Are you mocking me?"

"If I wanted to mock you, I'd make fun of your hair," Agumon retorted, still massaging his sore foot, "Seriously, the bleach blonde look went out of style forever ago. I mean, just take a look at TK."

"Hey, this is natural!" TK complained, to which Agumon replied, "Keep telling yourself th-Oomph!"

Agumon was cut short when BlackWarGreymon hit him so hard that he flew all the way back to the temple door, sliding to a stop just short of it. Kari gasped, "Agumon!"

"Stay back, I got this," Agumon shouted, sitting up slowly. BlackWarGreymon scoffed, stepping towards the Destiny Stone, "Is this a joke? I feel a power deep inside you that you're keeping buried within you. LET IT OUT! FACE ME WITH YOU'RE TRUE MIGHT!"

"FACE THIS!" Paildramon flew at BlackWarGreymon from behind, catching him unaware and hitting him with enough force to actually send him flying off the mountain. Paildramon didn't celebrate, continuing after the Mega at full speed while Davis cheered him on, "Yeah! Go get him Paildramon!"

"Davis, a sneak attack like that will only work once," Ken pointed out, "BlackWarGreymon will be on his guard next time."

As soon as he finished his sentence, Paildramon crashed into the mountain so hard that it shook. BlackWarGreymon returned with fire in his eyes and growled, "I've had enough. Fight me now!"

"Okay, but first you'll have to catch me," Agumon winked, racing to the edge of the mountain and leaping off. Everyone gasped and raced to the edge to make sure he was okay, only to see BlackWarGreymon zipping after him. The mega digimon struck Agumon with all his might, sending back up to the top of the mountain and landing again at the temple door. The poor rookie's eyes rolled in his skull as he realized his usual tricks would do him no good here, "Uh…I might be in over my head, here."

BlackWarGreymon ascended to the top and pointed at him, "Enough! I'm tired of this stupidity! Face me at your full potential or I'll destroy this entire forsaken island. Then I'm moving on."

"I can't," Agumon replied, slowly pushing himself back up, "I literally can't. Not without my best friend."

"Then bring him here," BlackWarGreymon demanded more angrily, "NOW! I know you can do it. You said so yourself! Bring him here."

Agumon frowned, "Not happening."

BlackWarGreymon did not appreciate being told what he couldn't have and he roared in defiance, ascending high into the air to make an example of Agumon. The little orange dinosaur swallowed the lump forming in his throat and held out the digivice in his claws, "Time to bail guys, Digiport Open!"

Light shone from the digivice and they were blinded for a moment, the world shifting around them until they landed on the beach of file island. Everyone was there - Agumon, the digidestined, their partners, and the old man. In the distance, BlackWarGreymon hovered over the mountain summit with his arms above his head to concentrate a growing black fire. Suddenly, the fire expanded rapidly as if the sky itself came aflame. From this distance, they heard him shout, "Terra Destroyer!"

The fire descended, setting the mountain ablaze and shattering it like glass with its immense force. Infinity Mountain crumbled away to nothing. The island trembled with Infinity Mountain passing to nothing but a smoldering crater in the ground. For a brief moment, terror came. Then the group watched as the sky tore open with a bright light. Through it, a long serpentine figure came into being - writhing as if in unimaginable agony. BlackWarGreymon roared, as if he was inflicted with the same terrible pain. But he fought the pain enough to growl, "You! What are you? I feel your power! Face me!"

As quickly as the figure appeared, it vanished when the tear in the sky closed. BlackWarGreymon roared in anger, "You can't run from me! Come back! I will have my fight. Even if I have to destroy every Destiny Stone there is!"

A boom followed as he departed at speeds they couldn't fathom. Davis was the first to speak after the spectacle they'd seen and it was to ask, "First Ken, then Arukenimon, and now BlackWarGreymon. Shouldn't we go after him? He might find another Destiny Stone!"

"Nah, it took us forever to do that and we found that one by accident. And that was only because Tamer tripped into a hole," Agumon explained as he gasped for breath, "Digital World is a big place. Let me just get a minute to catch my brea-"

BANG!

The old man produced a large rifle from within his long coat and used it to shoot Agumon in the back. He looked down at the hole in his gut, clutching at it as blood started to spill out. He opened his mouth a few times to try to say something before falling face first into the sandy beach. The digivice rolled out of his hand and came to a stop just inches from his outstretched claw, while the old man cackled, "Thank you for the tea Agumon. That'll be all out of you for now."

"Agumon!" Ken slid down to the orange dinosaur's side while the old man chuckled to himself, "Oh my, such heroism. Pardon my abrupt rudeness, but Agumon has earned his long awaited rest. Now let him have it!"

"Dude! What the hell?" Davis jumped on the man, finding him suddenly a lot stronger than he appeared earlier that day. He threw Davis off easily, then cracked an evil smile, "I apologize for the subterfuge. Oh my, two apologies in a row - I am too polite. Once Arukenimon learned you were after Agumon, we knew he had to be neutralized, same as Tamer. Now where is that digivice?"

Yolei and Halsemon were already ahead of him, grabbing the digivice and coddling it tight, "You're not getting this freak!"

"Oh, name calling. How rude," the old man rebuked, "Is that any way to talk to your mummy?"

"I assure you, you are not Yolei's mother," Halsemon spat out. The old man chuckled, "Oh, but you misunderstand. I didn't say mother, I said mummy!"

The old man ripped off his blue coat to reveal a horrid stench upon them. Beneath, they could vaguely make out a desiccated corpse wrapped in old bandages and a mouth that hung open at a crooked angle. Gleefully, the man shambled forward, "I am Mummymon, slayer of digidestined, wooer of women. Be it on your head digidestined, if you don't give me that digivice."

It was hard to concentrate on anything he was saying because of the smell. It was so putrid and disgusting that the digidestined had no choice but to keep their distance to keep from throwing up in disgust. It was easier for some than it was for others. Still Paildramon charged forward again with his guns blazing, "Desperado Blaster!"

The bullets riddled Mummymon's decrepit body, sending dust and bits of flesh flying everywhere but doing little to actually impede him. He shambles towards Paildramon, "Oh, dear. You appear to be quite injured. Here, let me give you a bandage!"

One end of the wraps leapt off Mummymon's skin to ensnare Paildramon. The ultimate digimon struggled under the bandages, eventually falling over while Mummymon quipped, "You look a bit tied up, perhaps I'll come back another time. Now, where'd that girl get off to?"

"Golden Noose!" Both Pegasusmon and Nefertimon used their golden light to drag Mummymon away from the group as a whole, trying not to breathe in the noxious scent of the digimon. It worked until the golden light sliced Mummymon in half and the two armor digimon looked back to see both halves still crawling towards Yolei. Nefertimon gagged, "Okay, I am not in the mood for anymore horror movie stuff."

"Cody, how about I give it a go?" Armadillomon looked at his partner. Cody was already a few steps ahead and pointed his digivice at his partner, "Armadillomon! Digivolve to! Ankylomon!"

Mummymon looked up to see Ankylomon looming over him and frowned, "I don't suppose you're here to help put me back together?"

"No," Ankylomon stomped his foot down hard on Mummymon, watching dust scatter. Still, that didn't stop the chills from running up his leg when he heard the sickening crunch of Mummymon's body. The chills turned to disgust as the wrappings worked their way up Ankylomon's body, "Oh crap. Get it off! Get it off!"

"Come now, Ankylomon," Mummy's face managed to crawl out from under his titanic foot, "Come and give your mummy a hug!"

"EW! EW! EW! EW!" Ankylomon jumped up onto his hind legs and back pedaled as far as his feet would carry him, ripping away the wrappings and falling flat on his back. Mummymon's wraps retreated away from Ankylomon's leg and began reaching out to the scattered parts of his body. This meant Paildramon was freed of the wraps constraining him, a good thing as he readied to fight Mummymon again. Or he would have if Davis wasn't already on the mummy, ripping away the bandages with his bare hands to keep them from reuniting Mummymon's scattered body. This itself had to be stopped when the bandages started making their way up Davis's legs.

Ken frowned, "That's not working Davis."

"Well do you have any better ideas? Because I'm open to suggestions!" Davis screamed as he ran into the water to wash Mummymon's bits off him. Watching him gave Ken an idea, "Actually I do."

He snatched TK's hat off his head despite his protests and scooped up a hatful of salt water. Then, with a good throw, scattered the water over Mummymon's scattered body. The old man laughed, "What's your plan? Give me a bath?"

"Something like that," Ken smirked at the mummy. The old man looked down at himself and watched his soaked bandages start to come apart like wet paper. He scowled, "No! My wraps! Stop it!"

"What's the matter? Don't like the water?" Ken added, the others joining him to throw water on the mummy. The mummy growled and began a slow, shambling retreat with his many disjointed body parts and dry wraps dragging themselves back towards the forest, "You haven't seen the last of me, digidestined. We will have Tamer's digivice! Be it on your heads!"

"Nice one," Davis patted Ken's back, "Wish I'd thought of that. Ruin TK's hat and beat the bad guy in one go!"

"What's wrong with my hat?" TK asked, annoyed and too disgusted by the soggy headwear to put it back on. Davis answered, "Nothing, if you like wearing buckets on your head."

"Yeah, because goggles are a much better choice," TK rolled his eyes. Davis pointed at Ken and himself, "Two against one buddy. Three if you count Taichi or Tamer or whatever."

"It really is just you three though," Yolei added, rejoining them with Tamer's digivice still in her hand. Kari looked at it longingly, wanting to take it from the other girl but holding herself back when she saw Agumon laying unconscious on the beach. She ran to his side to make sure he wasn't turning back into data and breathed a sigh of relief. He was a lot stronger than he seemed to survive a blow like that but his injury was still bad. They were one step closer, but one step further away from getting Tamer back. And there was still BlackWarGreymon on the loose out in the wild. Ken must've been on the same line of thought as he suggested, "I think we should concentrate of those destiny stones right now."

"No way dude! Agumon first!" Davis protested, "We have to get him some help."

"And I have to get home before mom notices I'm gone," TK looked up at the setting sky. It was odd to see a horizon on File Island without Infinity Mountain but this was their reality now. A reality with a mega level digimon who would willing wipe a mountain out of existence in a fit of rage. And they still had no idea what they should do with Myotismon's coming return.

 


	33. Reality Trembles

They took Agumon back to the village to recover, keeping his return secret by flying him straight to ShogunGekomon's Palace. Arukenimon's bold attack and Mummymon's surprise had taken them all off guard and they realized it was better to play it safe than sorry. They couldn't afford to be as careless as they had been in when it came to her. Especially after the confusion over whether or not the SkullGreymon that attacked had been Tamer's Agumon. The villagers already doubted the digidestined for being around Ken, the Emperor who'd ravaged their world. Now they were questioning their missing hero 'The Digimon Tamer'. As Izzy put it, presenting an unconscious Agumon after they'd just seen SkullGreymon be destroyed would create more concern and fears - which might play them straight into Myotismon's hands. He was the kind of digimon who relished in this confusion and fear.

When the older digidestined asked what the younger team had learned, the answers were not as useful as they could've been. The knowledge that a digimon like Dragomon was on an active hunt for Kari was already too reminiscent of Myotismon, but knowing Tamer did it to himself to protect her worried her. She wanted to believe it meant her brother was still protecting her like he promised to long ago. But it only further cemented the idea that her brother was too far away to come back.

With Agumon unconscious, it was up to them to figure out how to put Tamer's memories back. And by that, they really meant Izzy, Yolei, and Ken since they were ones with any knowledge of technology. The rest of them went out looking for the remaining Destiny Stones but no one knew where to even start looking. Agumon said they found that one by accident when Tamer fell in a hole. So the digidestined broke off into teams to cover more ground in their search. At the very least, it gave them a chance to take down control spires so that Arukenimon wouldn't have any more ammo to throw at them.

In an unused bedroom in ShogunGekomon's palace, Agumon lay resting in a bed while Ken, Yolei and Izzy used his laptop and the salvaged computer from the shipwreck to figure out Tamer's digivice. Wizardmon had come to observe, but was mostly quiet as he jotted down notes in a journal that he'd had on it. However, he stopped writing as their attempts kept running into walls whenever they tried to do anything with the digivice. Izzy tried to have a look at its files but his computer always froze when it started looking past the directory of folders. The nav computer that Ken salvaged was able to get further at cracking it but only managed to get into the first layer of subfolders.

Yolei made the most ground when she made her own attempt with Izzy's laptop and inadvertently managed to break past one subfolder in the file directory. Its contents consisted of a single file that, when opened, caused a video to play of Tamer staring back at them seriously. He tapped the screen, obviously to make sure the camera was working before speaking.

"Agumon! I've got a list of things I need you to do when I'm...well, not around. First, keep an eye on the digidestined. You don't have to help them with every little thing, but make sure they don't do anything stupid. Two, protect that Destiny Stone. Don't let it be destroyed no matter what. I'm serious! Protect it! Three, Protect the digivice. That's my only way of turning back once this is all over. Five, don't...wait...no, four. Don't turn me back unless there's some cross dimensional thing that we can't ignore or Dragomon gives up looking. You know what I'm talking about. Five, you. Stay safe buddy. Take care of yourself. Although, to be honest you're probably already eating that marshmallow stash you think I don't know about. Six, and this is important, no coconuts! I hate coconuts! I hate the taste, I hate the consistency, I hate the water inside them, everything. Taichi Yagami may do something stupid like eat a coconut and I don't want to wake up with that flavor in my mouth when you put me back. Seven, if Myotismon makes a move too soon, then you know what to do. Good luck buddy. I'll see you on the other side of...well, all this."

"Fascinating," Wizardmon answered as he scribbled furiously into his journal, "To think that the digivices could even have videos."

The video ended there, Wormmon dryly commenting, "It says a lot about his priorities that coconuts ended up on there."

"That doesn't tell us how to put Tamer's memories back though," Izzy frowned, pressing play on the video again, "You have to give him credit. He must've planned on this happening to have a video ready which means he doesn't make up as much as you would think he does."

"Or it was impromptu," Ken countered, "Notice how he was talking? Rushed. In a panic."

"Still, to come up with this plan on the spot like that," Yolei leaned away from his computer, looking over at Agumon as he lay on the bed. He hadnt moved since he was brought here, and hadn't stirred even though the digimon has brought in plates of food in the hopes that the smell would wake him up. There was nothing else for it but to continue working to try and crack this digivice.

* * *

Matt, Sora, Gabumon and Biyomon searched a forest about a hundred miles north of the village, looking for any kind of rock with a golden ring on it. Biyomon and Gabumon had to work together to destroy any control spires in the area since they couldn't digivolve. TK told them that the spires seemed to kill any plant life around them but they didn't expect it to be this bad. Plants wilted or rotted around its base and the side of any tree that faced it was rotted to point of smelling. Hopefully, they would be able to fix things by destroying the spires around them.

As they looked, Sora noticed Matt always looking away whenever she looked his way and called out to him, "What's eating at you, Matt?"

"It's nothing," Matt replied, continuing through the woods just ahead of her and pushing aside shrubbery. She noticed he'd put his hand in his pocket a few times, a normal instinct of his when he wanted to play his harmonica but couldn't. He kept it in his pocket for whenever he needed to relax. Even now, that aspect of him hadn't changed. When he noticed that she was still looking he answered, "Just some band stuff. We're working on some new songs but they don't want to do one even though I really want to. So, they want me to give up lead vocals on some of our other new songs."

He still seemed tense. She could tell that whatever was bugging him was not the thing he'd just talked about. He hadn't paused or hesitated. Instead, he sounded like he was venting about Tamer. That wasn't what made him anxious. She stressed to him, "Come on Matt! We're friends! You can talk to me."

"Friends," he repeated dryly before looking back at her, "Do you...do you ever wonder what you'll do if Tamer ever becomes Tai again?"

"Huh?" Sora blinked, having wondered what life would be like if Tai never disappeared. She'd never given though to what would happen if he ever got his memories back. If he ever just became Tai again. It'd be hard for them to just pick up their friendship where they'd left off years ago, with her telling him to drop dead after he threw up in her hat. Would he forgive her for that? Would be even care? After all, his alternate persona was with Jun now. Or was this the same personality? Sora shook her head, unsure of the answer. Matt frowned and looked away, "You don't think...he...his memory is distracting from other things?"

Sora's face flushed when she realized where Matt was going with this, even less sure now than she was a moment ago. She'd been blind. She had no idea Matt felt that way. He did walk her home and she had gone to basically every one of his band's performances. But she always saw it as a sign of their friendship, not any kind of romantic gesture between them. Just thinking about it made her chest tight. And now she could tell that her silence was making him uneasy. He continued on without looking back, "Never mind. Forget I asked."

"No, wait, Matt," Sora called out to him, watching him stop. She walked to his side, placing a hand on her chest to calm her beating heart, "Look, I..."

She paused, taking a deep breath as her chest tightened, "It's just that things are complicated right now. I didn't mean to lead you on or...hurt you. And Tai...I don't want to try and chase something that's not there. But...I don't want to ruin this either. I-"

"Hey," he looked back at her with a soft smile. She didn't know how she never noticed how handsome he was before, with his golden locks brushing gently against his boyish face, "It's alright. I'm not mad, just...it doesn't matter. But, I am...here for you if you ever need me. You know that, right?"

"Yeah," Sora nodded, wishing things weren't as awkward as they were right now. Their partners caught up to them and asked, "What's going on guys? Find any Destiny Stones?"

"No, not here," Matt answered, still offering a soft smile as he walked ahead with Gabumon. Biyomon cocked her head, then looked at her partner, "Whats wrong, Sora? You're all red. You're not sick are you?"

"I'm fine Biyomon," Sora answered, picking up her partner to hug her. Right now, she needed something to hold to make herself feel better and her partner picked up on the fact that something was wrong, "You and Matt didn't fight did you?"

"No," Sora answered timidly. Right now, she would've preferred if they did fight. Not that she wanted to fight Matt but at least she would've known what to do then. Right now, she didn't know what she should do.

* * *

Cody and Joe wandered further down the beach in the opposite direction of Sora and Matt. Joe carried his partner on his back since Gomamon couldn't get very far on his own without slowing them down. Meanwhile, Digmon actively blew apart any control spires he found along the shoreline. Cody looked solemnly back out to the sea and Joe sensed his unease, "You alright, Cody?"

"Just thinking," Cody answered quietly.

"What about?"

"Everything that's happened," Cody answered, picking a stone off the beach and casting it out along the shore. It skipped twice and vanished beneath the waves, "It still seems odd, working with Ken after everything he did as the Emperor. I know why he did it now but...I still don't think he should have in the first place. And now he's with us? And then there's all this stuff with destiny. To be honest, at times I feel like I don't even have to be here. Like the important stuff is happening to everyone else so why am I here?"

"I know that feeling," Joe grimaced, recalling their first adventure to this world. He patted Cody's head, "We all sort of felt the same way when we came here. Just kids from summer camp getting dragged into something that Tamer and Agumon could've sorted out on their own. Then all the important stuff seemed to revolve around Sora or Kari. The rest of us weren't even sure why we were there. But, even for the smallest reason, we all had to be there. Sora kept us together, Matt and I went back and forth as the voice of reason, Izzy was the smart one and he'd usually figure things out if Tamer wasn't around, I was sort of the impromptu medic, TK and Mimi were the optimistic ones. Although, Mimi became more the heart of the team - she always wore her emotions on her sleeve and when her mom died she...changed. She became angrier. But she ultimately let it go only because she saw what that anger did to The Tamer."

"So then what does that make me? Do I go over the deep end and become angry because of my dad?" Cody asked seriously and Joe reeled from the seriousness of the question. Cody was far more introspective than he realized and tried to reason, "I don't know. I can't tell you. Not to sound like a broken record but TK's usually on the money. Just do what comes natural."

"But no action I take feels natural," Cody replied, "The right thing sometimes feels like the wrong thing. Like working with Ken - he's a digidestined but I feel nothing but resentment for what he did. Which troubles me because I didn't feel this way when he helped us get to Kari and TK in America. But...I don't know why, something about him makes me uneasy now. Davis seems willing to look past what he did but I don't know if that's better or worse."

"Yeah, that's more Mimi's area," Joe replied, but his partner encouraged him, "Come on Joe! Give it the old college try!"

Joe leered at his partner and his goofy smile. He didn't like being put on the spot but it was his job now to help out Cody. And he couldn't be vague or cryptic the way Tamer had been to them so long ago, "Okay, honest answer? I don't know what you should do. I would think that Ken is probably just as confused. Going by what he told us: his motivations and what pushed him over the edge, it's a miracle that none of us ever became like him. Especially Mimi since she had more reason than any of us."

"You sound like you sympathize with him," Cody looked at him accusingly. Joe shook his head, "I do. That doesn't mean I approve of what he did. Your father was a cop, wasn't he? I'm sure he dealt with stuff like this all the time while he was on duty."

"I don't think he would've let a criminal go just because they had a sob tory," Cody murmured. Joe nodded in agreement, "True. But I don't think he'd ever forget if the _criminal_ or, in this case, the wrongdoer was just a scared _kid_ who was only a little older than his son."

"A kid who killed hundreds of digimon and enslaved more," Cody frowned. Joe raised a finger, "Who now knows what he did was wrong and is trying to make up for it."

Cody closed his eyes, "I'm sorry Joe. I'm trying to see it that way, I am. But I doubt my dad would've been so careless with duties as an officer of the law."

Joe couldn't help but smile, not in joy but at his point being proven. He was no good when it came to this kind of thing. Still, at least Gomamon was there to encourage him, "Hey, at least your tried Joe."

"I don't think I get many points for effort in this case, buddy," Joe chuckled to himself.

* * *

Kari, Davis, Nefertimon and Flamedramon went off to search further inland for the Destiny Stones. However, that didn't mean they really had much hope of finding it. Nefertimon and Kari searched from the skies while Flamedramon went about destroying every spire he could find in the forest. After searching for what felt like hours, Nefertimon asked for a break and they decided to stop by a nearby stream. There, Davis and Veemon took turns seeing who could make the biggest splash in the water while Kari watched from upstream to wash her face and cool off. Gatomon isolated herself a little further upstream, patiently waiting for any fish to swim by that she could eat.

Once Kari was done washing her face, she got up and sat down by a local tree. TK and Patamon stayed behind to come up with ideas with ShogunGekomon to keep order in the village. In truth, she would've preferred if they had come with if only because Davis had been uncharacteristically quiet for the entire time. She had noticed him looking her way a few times, and worried that he would try to ask her out or create some other kind of romantic display that she wasn't ready for.

Her anxiety heightened only when he asked Veemon to go gather some sticks for a fire. Veemon was confused by that task, since they weren't planning on camping but he did eventually go after Davis prodded him. Once Veemon was gone, he looked Kari's way nervously. He wanted something and she suspected that romantic gesture was about to come. She bit her lip when he leaned on the tree beside her, "Hey Kari."

Here it came, "Yeah, Davis?"

"I...um...that's...never mind," Davis looked away, staring out at the stream with a beet red face. She understood that bashfulness well, but never knew him to be anything but bold. He must've noticed she was staring because he suddenly started talking, "What do you think of Ken?"

"Ken?" Kari turned her head. This wasn't the line of conversation she thought he was going to go down, "He's okay I guess. I mean, I don't think I could ever forgive what he did. I don't think he can forgive himself either. But he's trying to make up for it - he's trying to do better. I guess that's all anyone could ask for. Still, to go that far for his brother."

"Would you ever go that far? To save Tai or Tamer...your brother?" Davis asked.

"I don't think that I could," Kari's eyes looked down, "But I know I'd have a hard time telling myself not to if I had the chance."

"He meant that much to you?" Davis glanced at her briefly but looked away when she tried to meet his eyes. He was probably trying to steer this towards the fact that he was basically a walking carbon copy of her brother. And that made her more uneasy. She wasn't trying to use Davis as a replacement, but she couldn't deny the similarities were what drew her to him. The upbeat attitude, the love of soccer, the inability to focus or sit still. She began to try an apology but he spoke first, "I met Tamer."

"What?" She looked at him solemnly. He pocketed his hands, "Back when we first came to the Digital World and I got chased into that cave with Monochromon. He wanted me to keep it a secret. I don't quite remember why though. And it slipped my mind until that thing in Colorado. I wanted to tell you but...couldn't really find the right time to do it."

"Why...are you telling me now?" Kari asked. Davis threw up his hands, "It...felt wrong not to say anything. Especially with how hard you've been trying to get him back. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

He paused after that, staring back at the shkreline. Gatomon suddenly dove into the water and came out with a fish between each finger, "Lunch is served."

Both Davis and Kari applauded her while she started descaling the fish to eat. After a moment, Kari answered, "Thanks Davis."

"Don't mention it," Davis folded his arms quietly. Kari kept her gaze fixed on the stream as it flowed past, relieved that Davis hadn't asked her out. Instead, it seemed like he was trying to be her friend right now, which was exactly what she needed right now. And for a moment, the way he stood with his back to the tree made him resemble Tai - at least what Tai could've been if he never died. It would've been perfect if Gatomon hadn't remarked, "You two should just hurry up and decide if you're going to date or not. You need to work out you brother complex and I'm tired of Davis making an idiot of himself when he tries to impress you."

Both kids immediately went bright red, Kari gasping, "Gatomon!"

"Hey, I'm not the one hanging out with a guy because he looks like someone I know," Gatomon raised an eyebrow. Kari rebuked, "Then what do you call Wizardmon?"

"Hey, we already talked about it and it only took us a few days," Gatomon pointed out, "So when are you two going to work _this_ out?"

"Geez, way to kill the mood," Davis frowned, folding his arms. Gatomon rolled her eyes, and went back to descaling the fish. Kari couldn't look at Davis now. It was just too awkward. But that didn't mean she couldn't talk to him, even if it was embarrassing, "Davis...I don't-"

"I know," Davis answered without looking at her, still to embarrassed by Gatomon's comment, "You don't see me that way. I know you hang out with me because I remind you of your brother."

Kari finally turned to see Davis. He knew. That admission stunned her. All the attempts to impress her, to make himself stand out. He did all that and he knew, "Then why?"

"Because I always thought one day you would just see me for me," Davis replied timidly, "And until then, I thought I should at least try, y'know? I do like you Kari. Even if you don't like me back."

He paused again, and Kari was completely floored by his response. None of this was news to her, but the fact that Davis was aware of it made her feel like a horrible person. All of this was compounded by Davis adding, "Look, I'm not...I see how you are around TK and it's completely different from how you are with me. If you want me to...y'know back off so you and TK can-"

"Oh, I don't like TK that way," Kari finally found her voice at just the right time. She noticed Davis smile a little when she said that so she quickly added, "He's just a good friend. Like you are. Truth is Davis, I'm not really...interested in that sort of thing right now."

Davis's smile stayed, even if it was a small one. And that smile disappeared when the ground shook so violently that even Kari fell over despite sitting on the ground. Then something fell on her - Davis. He got up quickly, "Kari! Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kari massaged her head, "What was that?"

"DAMMIT! WHERE ARE THEY!?" BlackWarGreymon shouted from above them. Davis cursed his luck while Kari started reaching for her D-Terminal, "I'm going to go call the others. We don't stand a chance fighting BlackWarGreymon on our own."

"THAT'S IT! IF THAT CURSED STONE DOESNT SHOW ITSELF, I'LL JUST START BLOWING HOLES IN EVERY INCH OF THIS FOREST UNTIL IT APPEARS!"

"Oh, that's not good," Davis frowned, pulling Kari with him behind a tree. Gatomon joined them, leaving a fish in her mouth and gnawing on it hungrily, "I am...not...leaving...these fish...after I just...caught it."

"If we don't stop him, none of us will live long enough to enjoy them," Kari pointed out, which only made Gatomon chew faster, "All the more reason to eat now."

"DAVISH!" Veemon shouted, holding a bundle of sticks in his hand, "You heard that, too?"

"Yep," Davis nodded, "We should run while we can."

"Or you could have Magnamon fight him since he's never lost a fight," Gatomon said, chewing on the raw fish meat, "Since you have that digiegg and all."

"Oh right. Why do I keep forgetting we have that?" Davis scratched his head. Gatomon snidely answered, "Probably the same reason you forgot that to tell Kari about Tamer."

Kari promptly kicked her partner underfoot, "Stop it Gatomon."

"He makes it so easy though. I'm not kidding, we've never lost a fight because of him," Gatomon frowned. Davis was no longer listening to them, pointing his digivice at his partner and crying out, "DigiArmor Energize!"

"Veemon! Golden Armor Digivolve to! Magnamon, the Guardian of Miracles!"

Golden light radiated from Magnamon's body, costing them the element of surprise as BlackWarGreymon noticed it right away. He pointed down at them, about to say something until Magnamon flew forward so fast that his punch broke the sound barrier, "Magna Punch!"

BlackWarGreymon flipped backwards in the air, correcting himself and wiping a bit of blood from his helmet, "I was going to tell you to leave before I destroyed you. Now I'm just going to kill you."

"I've fought worse than-"

Magnamon was interrupted when BlackWarGreymon returned his punch full force, throwing Magnamon back. Unlike Magnamon, BlackWarGreymon followed up with another punch and another - sending Magnamon further and further away. Each impact was like thunder, throwing Magnamon back like a ping pong ball. Davis cried out his partner's name in despair and Kari hurried hers, "Gatomon! We have to help him!"

"Yeah, I'm do-" Gatomon paused to burp, "-done eating. Kari, there shouldn't be any control spires around after Flamedramon blew them all apart. Why not digivolve me to Angewomon?"

"I lie that idea. Okay," Kari nodded, raising her digivice above her head. Gatomon leapt into the air and cried out, "Gatomon! Digivolve to! Angewomon!"

Angewomon ascended high into the air, leveling herself off with Magnamon and BlackWarGreymon. She nocked one arrow and aimed carefully, watching the two digimon move carefully to time her shot. Although it had been years, she hadn't forgotten what happened if her shot was careless when a friend was in danger. After seeing Magnamon get knocked around silly, she whistled to get the Mega's attention, "Hey! BlackWarGreymon!"

The mega stopped knocking Magnamon around for a moment to glance back at Angewomon. This was her chance, "Celestial Arrow!"

The arrow of light flew swiftly and for a moment looked like it would strike its mark. Then BlackWarGreymon caught it in his hand an inch away from his chest. His eyes narrowed, infuriated by the attempt on his life. Angewomon cursed, "That's not possible."

He cast the arrow aside and look at his hand, inspecting it carefully while commenting, "I'll give you credit. That burned my hand. Maybe _you_ are a worthy opponent. Black Tornado!"

BlackWarGreymon spun in the air, rotating with enough speed to create a great black tornado in the air that made its way towards Angewomon. She retreated right away, grabbing Kari and Davis to move them out of the tornado's path. The winds roared and she could feel it pulling her in despite her attempts to flee. It only stopped when Magnamon dove into the tornado head first, "Magna Impact!"

A bright flash of golden light killed the violent winds. Magnamon and BlackWarGreymon squared off against each other in the air, then charged straight for each other with the intention of dealing the stronger blow. Instead, the two knocked each other away. However, BlackWarGreymon corrected himself before Magnamon could and dove for another punch. This time, Magnamon was saved by a blast of golden light, "Hand of Fate!"

The blast knocked the mega off his path and away from Magnamon. Davis and Kari looked to the distance to see Angemon leading the charge with Garudamon, MetalGarurumon, MegaKabuterimon, Aquilamon, and Stingmon just behind him. Atop their backs were TK, Sora, Joe, Gomamon, Matt, Izzy, Cody, Armadillomon, Aquilamon, Ken, and Palmon. BlackWarGreymon grunted with joy, "Yes. I've been wanting a good fight."

"Well you have one! Ice Wolf Claw!" MetalGarurumon's body opened to unleash a hail of rockets towards BlackWarGreymon. Garudamon followed up with a blast of fire, "Wing Blade!"

"Horn Buster!"

"Sonic Rings!"

"Spiking Strike!"

"Magna Punch!"

Every single attack hit its mark, with BlackWarGreymon standing there to tank every single blast. The barrage ended with Stingmon and Magnamon going in for the final blown only to be caught mid punch. BlackWarGreymon held them both back with one hand each and scowled, "I'm disappointed."

He threw them both aside and charged for the rest of the group behind them. The flying digimon holding their partners set them down to keep them out of harm's way before going back to rejoin the fight. Not to be left out, Joe, Cody and TK digivolved their partner's one step further.

"Gomamon! Digivolve to! Ikkakumon!"

"Angemon! Digivolve to! MagnaAngemon!"

"Armadillomon! Armor Digivolve to! Digmon, the Drill of Knowledge!"

"Ikkakumon! Digivolve to! Zudomon!"

The battle was too reminiscent of Piedmon easily dispatching their digimon the last time they fought such a powerful enemy. Only now, it was an evil knock off of WarGreymon making their lives hell. It didn't matter who came at him, BlackWarGreymon either beat them with ease or threw them aside . Zudomon and Digmon were limited to taking shots from the ground whenever BlackWarGreymon came close but the rest of them were plain outmatched in a straight fight.

Garudamon, MetalGarurumon and MegaKabuterimon tried to catch him off guard by attacking from three directions at once. BlackWarGreymon figured out what they were trying to do and descended out of the way at the last second so that they crashed into each other. Then it was Magnamon's turn, throwing punches and kicks as fast as he could but unable to land a direct hit. BlackWarGreymon moved around each blow with ease until he grew bored and kicked Magnamon away. Angewomon and MagnaAngemon took turns next. Angewomon shot arrows from a distance while MagnaAngemon swung his sword in controlled arches, intent on keeping BlackWarGreymon on the move and position him so that Angewomon had the best shot. BlackWarGreymon looked like he was having the most fun in his life against the two angels - he laughed and taunted them, "Yes. This is more like it. Swing harder! Fight me!"

"Fight this!" Aquilamon saw an opening and swooped in from behind BlackWarGreymon. The mega level moved aside at the last second, and the eagle crashed into MagnaAngemon in the air. While they disentangled themselves, BlackWarGreymon hurried in and knocked them both away, "Is this it!? Is that all? I expected more!"

MagnaAngemon pushed himself free of Aquilamon and grit his teeth. MetalGarurumon zoomed past them and howled, "Well you haven't fought me yet!"

He rammed the Mega level at full force, pushing him back. BlackWarGreymon seemed almost gleeful now - puching MetalGarurumon's head with all his might while the wolf sank its metallic teeth into his flesh. Seeing an opportunity, Stingmon came in with both blades extended, "SPIKING STRIKE!"

He dove in at full force and struck his blade straight into BlackWarGreymon's back. The mega roared in pain, then grabbed Stingmon with his free hand to use as a club on MetalGarurumon. The metal wolf held on as long as he could but Stingmon's cries of pain were enough that he had to let go if it meant sparing him. As soon he released his hold on the digimon's maw, BlackWarGreymon threw Stingmon full force at the ground. A dust cloud shot straight up into the sky as a small crater formed around him, revealing Wormmon at the bottom when the smoke cleared.

Then it was onto the next target. BlackWarGreymon rounded on Garudamon and Aquilamon next, grabbing a hold of both of them by the head and beginning to spin in the air, "Black Tornado!"

He created another violent gust of wind from which they heard the screams of their partners. Then they both flew out as Biyomon and Hawkmon, crashing into the forest with a loud boom.

"BIYOMON!"

"HAWKMON!"

Sora and Yolei went off to find their partners, ignorant of the beating BlackWarGreymon was issuing upon the remaining digimon. Zudomon and Digmon tried to hit him again, but were limited without the power to fly like the others could - leaving them open to BlackWarGreymon smashing into them from above. MagnaAngemon, Magnamon, and Angewomon moved to surround BlackWarGreymon while he was this low. Angewomon called out, "All together! Heaven's Charm!"

"Magna Punch!"

"Excalibur!"

The rainbow of lights Angewomon produced invigorated Magnamon and MagnaAngemon, who threw themselves at BlackWarGreymon one more time to strike him. Their attacks hit the mark, or would have in BlackWarGreymon hadn't grabbed them both by the arms. He swung the two digimon together and slammed them to the ground before throwing them both at Angewomon. The three digimon collided with each other and continued some distance into the trees. Both MagnaAngemon and Angewomon regressed back to Patamon and Gatomon respectively, but Magnamon was still able to get back up. TK panicked, "He just knocked out MagnaAngemon! No one's ever done that!"

"IS THIS IT!? IS THAT ALL THERE IS!?" BlackWarGreymon growled in anger, "Give me more! More! ANYONE ELSE!"

"I'm still right here!" MetalGarurumon slammed into BlackWarGreymon from the side, pushing him straight into MegaKabuterimon. The bug digimon grabbed a hold of the mega and suplexed him back into the ground, only to be flipped over BlackWarGreymon's head. The mega roared, "YES!"

"How strong is this guy?" Matt complained, seeing BlackWarGreymon go at each other again. Ken shook his head, "It doesn't look like there's an upper limit to it! Look at MetalGarurumon. He's winded and we just got here. But BlackWarGreymon barely looks tired."

"So what do we do?" Davis asked Ken, "Come on, you gotta have something."

"I don't," Ken shook his head at a loss, "I…I don't know."

"BlackWarGreymon doesn't fight like Tamer or WarGreymon or any of the other digimon we've faced," Izzy noted, "His movements are sloppy. But…I don't know, it's like he's so strong that he doesn't need to be as well coordinated."

"Okay, so what do we do then?" Davis asked, "Most of our digimon are down and the ones who are up are barely hurting him!"

"Don't worry Davis," Magnamon grunted as he got back up on his feet, "I'll-"

BlackWarGreymon appeared before the armored digimon and raised him up by his neck, "You'll what?"

"Magnamon!" Davis called out his partner's name. The digimon choked as BlackWarGreymon tightened his grip, "That armor of yours is so bright…and shiny. I thought it would mean that you were a great warrior. But I see now that all it means is you've never fought a battle you couldn't win. Pathetic. To think I was excited for the chance to fight-"

BlackWarGreymon paused when Magnamon's armor began to shimmer - blinking with golden light and resonating with another glimmer of light further into the trees. And when BlackWarGreymon saw it, he drifted forwards with Magnamon in his hand. Davis shouted, "HEY! Where are you going with Magnamon! Give him back!'

BlackWarGreymon ignored the boy, continuing to drift towards the light until the source was clearly in view - a Destiny Stone resembling a mound of dirt with another golden ring upon it. BlackWarGreymon threw Magnamon aside and proceeded towards his goal unabated. He had it in sight. His true enemy was closer now. He rose up into the air and prepared his attack, summoning a ball of black of fire in his hands and expanding it so that it blanketed the sky. Magnamon knew there was no stopping it now. He had to retreat, he raced back towards the others to get as many of them out of the was as possible when the ball of fire came crashing down, "TERRA DESTROYER!"

The impact was as devastating to the forest as it had been to Infinity Mountain. Anything that wasn't obliterated was left aflame as a giant burning crater formed before them. BlackWarGreymon recoiled in pain, trying to maintain control over it until the sky ripped open overhead again to show the same serpentine figure writhing in agony. This time, two more tears appeared in the sky - one showing an upside Tokyo and the other showing a dreary gray ocean.

"He's destroyed another destiny stone!" Matt shouted, pointing upwards, "Is that…Tokyo?"

"The Digital World and Real World aren't coming apart are they?" Yolei asked.

"THERE YOU ARE!" BlackWarGreymon called out at the serpentine figure, racing towards it. As quickly as it came, the tears slammed shut and the figure vanished with them. BlackWarGreymon roared in anger, "NO! COME BACK HERE! FACE ME!"

He roared at the sky in anger to no avail. When the figure didn't return, BlackWarGreymon clicked his tongue and sped off into the distance, "FINE! I'LL FIND ANOTHER. AND ANOTHER! I WON'T STOP UNTIL WE FIGHT!"

The digidestined watched the mega disappear into the distance, then looked at each other. MetalGarurumon was the only the digimon still standing and he was barely able to stay upright. The rest of the digimon had regressed back to their rookie states or were too beaten in battle to stand up again. Now they'd all seen just how strong BlackWarGreymon really was. They had thrown everything they had at him and it wasn't enough. This was what they were up against, and they would have to do it on their own.


	34. Figuring Things Out

In another part of the Digital World, Arukenimon and Mummymon stared into a monitor to see Yukio Oikawa staring back with the grimmest look in his eyes. He asked one question, "So what are you going to do about BlackWarGreymon?"

"I honestly don't see why we should do anything," Mummymon replied, "He's doing a bang up job keeping the digidestined distracted."

Oikawa slammed his hand on the table, "He's going after the Destiny Stones! If those cornerstones to reality are destroyed, then we'll have an entire event collapse! The Digital World, the Real World, the Dark World, all worlds…all of it will be gone!"

Oikawa looked off to the side uncomfortably then added, "Contain him! Put him down if you have to, but do not allow him to get away with destroying everything that we've worked for!"

Mummymon shook his head, "For what it's worth, I did render Agumon unconscious. He'll be out for some time which gives us ample opportunity to screw with destiny, as the vernacular goes."

"That was unnecessary!" Oikawa reprimanded, "He won't bring Tamer back! Not yet, anyway. Forget about Tamer and Agumon for now. Focus on BlackWarGreymon!"

His anger seemed displaced to Arukenimon and Mummymon. He was mad, but his tone indicated more anger from distress than actual rage. He continued looking to his side nervously, and Arukenimon tilted her head in the hopes of seeing whatever he was looking at. She bit her lip, "It will be hard with the digidestined destroying every control spire they can find. But there's plenty more where they came from. I can try to make another mega level."

"NO!" Oikawa interrupted quickly, "No. You won't do that. That's too dangerous for us to risk. We can't afford for you to lose control of another spire digimon. Just do as you're told and stop BlackWarGreymon."

"How do you expect me to do that without the control spires?" Arukenimon asked seriously, tapping her foot impatiently. Oikawa sighed, "One control spire per digimon. That's it. Anything more than that and it may become too intelligent. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Arukenimon nodded, bitter that she was once again being denied the ability to handle things how she would have preferred. Oikawa nodded, "Good. Mummymon, since you're the only one I can actually trust to get anything done at the moment, I want you to supervise."

"Oh my word," Mummymon put a hand to his face to mask his disgusting smile, "Are you granting me such an impropriety as punishing such a fair lady?"

Arukenimon promptly slapped her male counterpart and glowered at the screen, "You keep it in your pants. And do you really expect me to listen to anything he says?"

Oikawa nodded and folded his hands, "Only if you expect to stay alive. Don't forget that I can still do this at my discretion."

He pressed a finger on one of the keys on his computer and Arukenimon felt a powerful jolt of electricity course through her veins. She screamed and fell to her knees while Mummymon watched. He appeared to disapprove of this but did nothing to stop it. The electrifying pain only stopped when Oikawa removed his finger from whatever button he was pressing but he made a point of looking her in the eye afterwards, "Is the message understood, Arukenimon?"

"Yes, sir," Arukenimon spat back angrily, furious at the grim reminder of the power Oikawa held over her and even angrier at Mummymon for doing nothing. Oikawa nodded and turned off the monitor on his end, leaving Arukenimon alone with Mummymon. He had a relieved smile on his face as he helped her up, "I'm happy to see that you're okay."

"Don't be so happy when you're the one who didn't raise a finger to help me," Arukenimon spat back, pushing herself back up. Mummymon offered a hand to help steady her but she slapped it away, "Don't you dare touch me! I'll be fine on my own!"

Mummymon noticeably frowned but stepped back so she could do as she wished. She took a moment to straighten her dress and fix her hair, then thought aloud, "So…what are we going to do about BlackWarGreymon?"

"I firmly believe the digidestined will take care of the problem eventually if we just wait," Mummymon stated plainly. This gave Arukenimon an idea, "Digidestined…of course. I like that idea. You're a…well…you're smarter than I give you credit for."

Mummymon was overjoyed to receive the compliment but wasn't quite sure of what had her so excited all of a sudden. He was just glad that he could be of help to her.

* * *

The digidestined returned to ShogunGekomon's Village more defeated than happy. For the newer kids, it had been one losing streak after another - a bunch of digimon were questioning them for working with the Emperor, the Network had been destroyed, BlackWarGreymon decimated two destiny stones and the area around them, Agumon was unconscious, Dragomon was on the hunt for Kari, and Arukenimon was still on the loose with the nut job Mummymon.

Cody couldn't help but look down at his beaten partner in his arms, then over at Ken with his own half conscious partner in his. It seemed like all their problems started after Ken suddenly had a change of heart and decided to join them. And it seemed some of the villagers agreed as they harried Ken as soon as they saw him. Once again, Davis was the only one coming to his defense - telling the digimon to leave him alone. Once Davis shooed them away, Cody asked, "Is it really a good idea to defend Ken? It seems odd to me that literally all of our problems seemed to start shortly after he joined us."

"Cody!" Armadillomon gasped at his partner's boldness, "You can't just go around accusing-"

Cody remained adamant but tried to stay calm, "I'm serious Armadillomon. Think about it. All of our bad luck started happening around the time Ken showed up. As far as we know, he's the reason we've been

"Cody, he was captured with you remember? And he gave up Digitamamon just to prove he was trustworthy," TK pointed out, crossing his arms, "I think it's safe to say he's on our side."

"I'm just throwing it out there. It has to be him. Think about it. He and Stingmon haven't been fighting the way they used to!" Cody pointed out, "Remember when we fought Kimeramon? He hasn't used any of his fancy plans since then. Where was that when Arukenimon was attacking?"

"I don't know," Ken replied sheepishly, "I tried to use one but…I can't remember any of them. It's like…my head's been in a fog."

"Ken, what's wrong?" Wormmon looked at his partner worriedly. Cody shook his head disbelievingly, "Couldn't you just be saying that to lie to us?"

"Why would I lie?" Ken raised an eyebrow. Matt was hesitant but had to agree, "Don't take this the wrong way guys but I do think Cody makes a few good points."

"Crest of friendship, everyone," Ken replied sarcastically. Davis patted his shoulder and pushed the child prodigy behind him before anyone started throwing punches, "Hey! He froze up under pressure. We all saw how strong BlackWarGreymon was. If anything, it's a miracle any of us were able to stand up to him."

"Before we focus solely on his bad points, how about we look at his good points too?" Joe suggested in his defense, "I mean, he helped us stop Golemon, told us about Arukenimon, helped us find Agumon, and he's been helping us fight BlackWarGreymon."

"Maybe he's doing it to lower our guard?" Cody brought up again. Kari and TK looked wearily at Ken but Yolei was willing to be more forgiving, "He said he wanted to make up for the things he did. I don't think betraying us would be a part of that plan."

"He also said he wanted to spite Tamer," Kari added sheepishly, "Messing with us would help that if it would spite Tamer."

"To be fair, I think half of you have a bone to pick," Ken answered, pointing down the line at the digidestined, "Friendship over here sounds like he wants to deck him."

He moved onto Sora, "Your face flushes whenever his name gets brought up."

Then on to Davis, "You just want him to stop dating your sister."

Then Kari, "You want your brother back."

Finally at Izzy, "And I bet you have a lot of questions about everything that's going on. No offense to any of you but I think you all have one reason or another to deck Tamer the next time you see him. That doesn't mean I'm actively opposing any of you. But if you want me to leave, then I will."

Yolei was immediately disheartened to hear his intention of leaving and called out, "Hey, come on Ken-"

"No, I agree with Cody," Ken interrupted her, "I do think I'm a detriment to the group, although not for the reason he seems to think. In truth, I do agree that I am a jinx of some sort. Destiny seems determined to hinder me at every turn. I think that the best thing I can do for this group is to keep my distance from you at all times going forward."

"Yeah, no. Not happening," Davis immediately hooked his arm around Ken to keep him from leaving, "You're staying with us no matter-"

Ken grabbed a hold of Davis arm and pulled as hard as he could. For a moment, Davis thought his arm would pop out of his socket but nothing happened. He looked at Ken perplexed, "What are you doing?"

"You feel heavier," Ken grunted, still pulling his arm, "It's never been this hard to flip someone over my head before. Have you put on weight?"

"DUDE!" Davis yanked his arm out of Ken's grip, causing the boy to spin in place and fall on his bum. Everyone was surprised by that fall and Davis offered him a hand, "What gives man? I thought you were a black belt in Aikido?"

"I don't know," Ken took Davis' help up, "I don't…I must've done that a hundred of times. Why couldn't I…hang on."

Ken walked over to a half rotten melon that lay uneaten on the ground and faced Davis. He kicked it as hard as he could and watched it roll pathetically towards Davis feet, as if it had only been given a gentle nudge. Ken's heart sank as he realized he'd lost his soccer skill and Davis seemed torn by this revelation, "Don't tell me you lost your groove, dude."

"I don't know," Ken's mouth shrank into a small frown. Wormmon looked at his partner, "Maybe it has something to do no longer being the Emperor? Or, I don't know, maybe you're just hungry."

"That's the thing, I'm too hungry," Ken murmured, mumbling about how he'd been eating more lately and he didn't quite understand why. Cody raised an eyebrow, "So what? Are we supposed to believe that you're change of heart also meant you lost your smarts and your skill?"

"I don't know!" Ken grew more irritated at Cody. It seemed a fight would happen at any moment but Sora intervened by whistling, "Okay! Enough! No more fighting. At least not in front of the other digimon. Let's talk about this back at the castle. All of this."

"Whoa, where'd that come from?" TK took a step away from the older girl, thinking that his mother had come to possess her for a moment. She shot him an angry look and he fell quiet, before she gestured at them to follow quietly. He leaned in to his older brother to ask, "What's gotten into Sora?"

"You have to ask?" Matt asked him back, "I'm just glad I'm not the one in trouble."

"Why would you be in trouble?" TK raised an eyebrow, making Matt shift uncomfortably. Gabumon answered, "He and Sora we're talking in the forest. I didn't hear what about but Sora was red in the face and Matt didn't say a word after it."

TK elbowed his brother, "Having trouble with the girls all of a sudden big bro?"

"It's not like that TK," Matt pocketed his hands, "I don't want to talk about it."

And no matter how much TK prodded after that, Matt refused to say another word. When they finally arrived back at the palace, they settled upstairs into one of the larger rooms where Sora had each and every single one of the younger digidestined kneeling on the floor. Not one of them said a word while their digimon looked around confused, except for Wormmon who was simply surprised that Ken would listen to anyone at all. Sora's initially looked like a scowl but it relaxed after a moment and became one more of concern, "So here's the thing: I get it that you guys have issues working with Ken - but he's part of your team whether you all like it or not. And it's causing you guys to not act like a team. And that won't do."

"I don't have a problem with it," Davis started in his defense, only to be stopped by Sora, "No, you just go off and act without thinking half of the time. The rest of the team has to make up for your rash choices."

TK opened his mouth, "To be fair, that's-"

"No more comments from you!" Sora snapped at TK before he could even start, then turned to Gatomon, "Or you! You know you were going to. Your snark isn't helpful, to anyone."

Gatomon's mouth hung open but failed her when it came to a rebuttal since that would prove the point Sora was making. Instead she fell silent as Sora returned her attention to TK, "Seriously TK. It was annoying when Tamer acted the way he did. So please, stop it."

"It was annoying when there was only one Tamer," Joe massaged the bridge of his nose, "Davis dresses like him, TK acts like him, and Ken over there…basically became him for a while. But evil. Now that's a terrifying thought."

"Yeah, as if he wasn't already kinda evil," Gatomon rolled her eyes, earning a grimace from Sora. The older girl went on to add, "You guys…need to stop fighting with each other. It's not doing any good."

She paused, trying to collect her thoughts before turning on TK and Kari, "And I'm surprised at you two especially because I thought you would've noticed when that kind of thing happens! After what happened between ShogunGekomon and Leomon because of DemiDevimon, I thought you guys would've noticed it happening to you."

Somewhere in the castle, the older digidestined were sure ShogunGekomon had just shifted uncomfortably. The older members of the group looked just as unnerved while the newer members were left clueless. Sensing their confusion, Kari explained to them, "The first time we were here in the Digital World, a digimon called DemiDevimon disguised himself as a Gekomon and hid himself in ShogunGekomon's army. Then he just created confusion and chaos, eventually making another digimon called Leomon and ShogunGekomon turn on each other. The army split, and they spent time they should've used fighting the Dark Masters to fight each other instead."

"Wait, one of us is a traitor?" Yolei blinked, while Cody snidely commenting, "So does that mean I'm right when I say Ken is-"

"-not a traitor," Sora put her hands on her hips, "Come on! Isn't it obvious that you're letting your own personal feelings get in the way of cooperating with him? Give it a rest Cody, if he really was working with Arukenimon, would you have brought him back from the Network unconscious?"

She paused to let Cody consider it but he remained steadfast, "How do we know that wasn't staged?"

Sora threw up her arms in frustration, "When are you going to let it go? Ken isn't a traitor! There is no traitor except you guys just not working together very well."

Cody hung his head quietly, as did most of the others but Davis was insistent on his innocence, "But I'm the one who wants us to all work together. Heck! I wanted Ken to be on the team!"

"Then leave Yolei alone and stop finding a problem with her every chance you get," Sora looked back at him, "Because the way I see it, that's no different from how Cody is treating Ken. I'd say TK and Kari are the only ones who are working together but even that's not saying much since their team work usually leaves the rest of you guys out."

Now they were all hanging their heads quietly. Sora saw how upset she'd made them and looked out the window. The sun was setting over the horizon now, meaning they'd spent their whole day out in search of the Destiny Stone that got destroyed any way. The mood was already low because of that and she probably wasn't helping. She sighed and looked back at them, "It's late and we need to get home. All of us. We can talk about this more tomorrow. Until then, try not to bite each other's heads off!"

She waved a warning finger at them before turning to leave. Biyomon tilted her head slightly, "Huh. Didn't think Sora would be all mad like that."

"She kinda looked like mom for a second, huh bro?" TK turned in Matt's direction, only to see he was being ignored. Matt patted his partner's head, then followed after Sora out the door. Gabumon frowned, "Maybe he's going to apologize?"

"I don't think that's it at all," Joe adjusted his glasses, in some kind of display of deeper knowledge that no one was sure he actually had. Gomamon turned his head in disbelief and called out the older boy to his chagrin, "Do you really think so Joe?"

Joe didn't answer his partner, patting his head quietly and nodding to the others, "You guys don't have to kneel any more. Seiza is a pretty rough punishment."

Everyone but Cody collectively sighed in relief as they adjusted to sit more comfortably. Their legs ached and muscles protested from having to hold that specific position for so long. Cody pushed himself back up off the ground with ease, "I don't see what the big deal is. It wasn't that physically rough."

"Maybe not for you, Cody," Yolei whined, her legs stretched across the hard wood floor, "But the rest of us don't do this at least once a week."

"Speaking of which, it is almost time to meet my grandfather for kendo," Cody added quietly, "We should be heading back. After that, I have summer homework that I need to get caught up on. We've been so busy that I've barely managed to put a dent in it."

"Oh man, why'd you have to go and bring that up?" Davis bemoaned as he fell flat on the floor, "We have enough to worry about without stupid homework! The fate of the world's on the line and you want to do math problems!"

"Don't tell me you haven't even started," Kari sounded disappointed at the boy as he quickly sat up and came to his own defense, "Of course I have! I've totally done some of it."

"So you mean you've put your name on the assignments, then," Kari assumed correctly, making the boy sigh and fall back over onto his back. He grumbled something under his breath that made Kari giggle, although it was hard to tell if it was at him or with him since he was chuckling too. Then Davis bolted back up with a brilliant idea, "Hey, how about we have a study group and finish it up together?"

"Sorry, but I'm already finished. Some of us actually care about our education," Yolei made a point of adjusting her glasses. Davis answered, "Yeah, because it's really important that I know anything they teach us in math class. When am I ever going to have to solve for x? What about you Kari? You game?"

"Sure," she nodded cheerfully, petting Gatomon's fur, "TK?"

"It's not like my mom'll let me out of the apartment. I don't think she'd mind if we did it there though," TK nodded quietly. Ken felt uncomfortable with how close this group was with each and prepared to take his leave, "Wormmon and I will be heading back too. I think a good night's rest is exactly what we need after the last few days."

Cody was notably silent as the boy left, but Davis offered, "Come on Ken. Why not just head home with-"

"It's still obvious to me that there's some derision against me here. Not just from the others," Ken looked vaguely past Davis although he couldn't quite tell who it was at, "But also from the digimon here. I don't blame them. In the future, if you guys need my help I'd be happy to come by. For now, I think it'd be better if we don't meet in public here in the Digital World. No offense to any of you."

"How am I not supposed to be offended?" Davis blinked, Veemon patting his partner's side, "Don't worry Davish."

* * *

Ken had just made it outside with Wormmon still in his arms when he heard his name shouted from behind him. Izzy and Joe both made their way towards him with warm smiles, although he couldn't help but feel cowed by them. Izzy was the first one to talk, "How are you feeling Ken?"

"Fine, I suppose," Ken replied, unsure what the computer user meant by the question. Joe shook his head, "That's not what he meant. Something's wrong. You know it and we know it. You're supposed to be a child prodigy - super smart, athletic, basically the kinda kid every parent wishes they had. And you not only had trouble remembering stuff that you made, you also couldn't kick a melon. Something's wrong and we'd like to know if there's anything we can do to help."

Ken blinked in surprise, "Why would you want to help me?"

"Well, we're digidestined right?" Izzy said with a smile, "So, working together and helping each other out is an important part of us being a team."

"And I'm sure you want to know why you're suddenly not as smart as you used to be," Joe said with a smile, "We could help you out. My dad's a doctor and we could make a quick stop by his clinic. I'm sure he'd like to make your acquaintance."

Ken was taken aback by the sudden offer for help, and looked between the two older boys nervously at first. However, this a chance to get some help to find out what was going on with him. He couldn't deny that he wanted to know. No one was more confused about the loss of his gifts than he was and he wanted to understand why - why things that came to him so easily now seemed so complex and difficult.

* * *

Davis returned home with DemiVeemon still rubbing his injuries from earlier that day. DemiVeemon noted his partner had been smiling the entire time even though they'd lost horrifically to the might of BlackWarGreymon, prompting him to ask, "What's wrong Davis? You've been all smiles since we got back from DigiWorld!"

"Oh, just excited," Davis said gleefully. His partner tilted his head, "I thought you didn't like homework."

"Not that, hanging out with Kari," he corrected while making his way inside his family's apartment. He'd expected laughter when he came in, as his sister or his dad would usually be watching a comedy on TV. What he didn't expect to find when he got home was Taichi sitting on the couch next to his sister while sitting opposite their parents. He tapped DemiVeemon and shushed him to keep quiet. His mom stated, "Jun, I wish you'd brought him over sooner. He's so sweet."

"Not as sweet as Jun," Taichi added with a sly grin, making Jun giggle and his mom shriek with delight. Once Jun stopped giggling enough to be able to talk, she looked their dad in the eye and added, "To be honest, I thought dad was going to kill him as soon as he walked through the door."

"I was going to," their dad answered with folded arms, "But your mom persuaded me to give him a chance and, well, I'm glad I did."

"Thanks for not killing me," Taichi nodded with a half smile, obviously unnerved by their dad's admission. Jun slapped her father's lap, "Dad, be nice."

"Don't tell me how to live my life," their dad joked, before looking Taichi in the eye, "So if you don't mind my asking, what're your plans for the future?"

"I'm home," Davis said to finally get their attention, holding DemiVeemon like a doll. Jun gasped upon seeing his injuries and covered her mouth but it was obvious she was glowering. Taichi smiled on seeing him and waved, "Oh hey, Davis. How's your summer coming. Uh, I'm not one to judge or anything, but aren't you kinda old to play with dolls?"

"What did you do to him?" Jun snapped, jumping right away and storming towards Davis. Before he could answer in his defense, Jun started pushing him into their shared room. Davis protested the shoving but fell quiet when he saw the bewildered look on Taichi's eyes. He sat up and asked, "Is everything okay, Jun?"

"Huh? Oh! It's fine! Nothing important," Jun replied, slowly closing the door behind her, "Just, got to deal with my brother. You know! Sibling stuff. It'll only be a second."

She slammed the door and locked it, before turning on Davis, "What happened?"

"It's a long story, but we got our butts kicked. I'm fine, by the way," Davis replied, finally letting DemiVeemon hop off onto the bed. DemiVeemon lay down, "Ah, so soft. Such a nice bed."

"I can tell you're fine. What happened to DemiVeemon?" Jun demanded, "How could you let such a cute little guy get hurt like that?"

"I'll be fine after I get some food and rest," DemiVeemon reason with Jun, "Besides, it's not Davis's fault. We had no idea how strong BlackWarGreymon would be. We all went at him and he knocked us around like nobody's business."

"Oh, DemiVeemon," Jun petted his little head, making the small digimon cringe in pain at first. She adjusted her strokes, and DemiVeemon relaxed into a comforted smile. Then Jun returned her attention to Davis, "I just can't believe you'd let him get like this Davis. What's wrong with you?"

"Jun, what do you think we do in the Digital World?" Davis snapped back, "We fight bad digimon all the time. You even said-"

"I know what I said Davis," Jun spat back, "I don't remember ever saying let DemiVeemon get hurt instead!"

She stopped when there was a knock on the door and Taichi's voice came from the other side, "Hey, Jun. Is everything okay in there?"

"Yeah, everything's fine," Jun said back a little more loudly. Davis hushed DemiVeemon before he could say another word, as Taichi went on, "It's just that I could've sworn I heard another voice from in there."

"Just Davis doing a dumb impression," Jun came up with quickly to Davis's annoyance, and he seethed, "Really?"

"Well, okay," Taichi said. They waited a second longer as they heard his footsteps get away from the door before finally breathing a sigh of relief. Davis pointed out the door, "What's he doing here, anyway?"

"Taichi? Mom and dad wanted to meet the guy I've been going out with almost every day," Jun explained, before pointing a finger at him, "Don't change the subject. We're talking about how you let this happen to DemiVeemon."

"Look, there's a really strong guy in the Digital World right now who's just wrecking the place but we're working on a way to stop him," Davis assured his sister. He went to retrieve his bag and make sure his summer homework was still inside. Then he zipped it up, "We're not going to be fighting him again for a while which'll give DemiVeemon plenty of time to recover. And next time that guy won't be so lucky."

"I hope so, for DemiVeemon's sake," Jun looked at the little digimon worriedly. She sighed and let DemiVeemon close his eyes, then noticed Davis was on his way out, "Where are you going?"

"TK's place. Y'know, Matt's brother. We have to finish our summer homework before school starts up," Davis said as he went back out the door. Taichi was still standing there with his arms folded with a worried expression on his face but he did not look at Davis, "Is everything okay in there?"

"Everything's fine," Davis frowned, heading for the door. Then he stopped, an idea coming into his head that he was certain would get him some points with Kari as well as put a smile on his face, "Hey, have you done your grade's summer homework yet?"

"Me? Nah, I've been kinda blowing it off. Why'd you ask?" Taichi admitted quietly in a hushed tone so that Davis's parents didn't hear. Davis grinned from ear to ear, "How do you feel about coming over to a study party I'm heading to? It'll impress mom and dad if they see you studying hard and I bet Jun wouldn't mind getting help from you."

Davis stressed the last part of that sentence but Taichi's face was unreadable. Then the boy smiled, tugging at the goggles hanging around his neck, "I feel like you're trying awfully hard to get me to do something. But I like your sister so sure, I'm game. But this better not be a trick or anything. I've had enough weird stuff from your friends. Oh, and I gotta run home and get my homework!"

"Great, just let me message some friends," Davis smiled, retrieving his D-Terminal from his pocket to start a message to Kari. He didn't want to risk their digimon being found out or ruin the surprise he was about to send their way. The only down side was the immediate response he got from her saying that TK's mom would only allow him to participate if they went to his place. When Jun came back outside of the room, Taichi explained Davis' idea to her and she latched on right away - equally to get her homework done since she hadn't started and also to spend a little more time with Taichi. Both their parents gave them the okay to leave, but not before making sure that Jun brought Taichi over more often.

* * *

Ken shifted uncomfortably on the patient bed in the Kido Clinic. Joe's dad had already closed the office to give him privacy, but that didn't stop either Izzy or Joe from quietly observing his dad go through his work. Joe explained everything to his dad and, as Ken learned, his dad agreed to keep everything quiet since he was somewhat a celebrity. After a quick inspection, Dr. Kido explained, "Reflexes and strength tests are normal for your age group. You passed the memory and cognitive function tests. The problem could be psychological given what happened to you. You don't have to tell me what happened after you disappeared for a few days, it's not my job to make you answer anything you don't want to. Honestly, I think the only thing worth mentioning is that small bump on the back of your neck, but that's easily explained by puberty. If it's any consolation, you could get acne on worse parts of your body."

Ken put a hand on the back of his neck nervously, frustrated with the only helpful news he would get. He did feel the bump that Dr. Kido was talking about and vaguely recalled getting hit there years back during one of his misadventures with Tamer. The more he dwelled on it, the more he remembered some cataclysmic battle that caused something to hit him there. Although it was unlikely, he wondered how much of this was related.

"But that can't be right," Izzy shook his head, "He was mentally and physically gifted, excelling in things no one else was able to. It doesn't seem possible that he would just lose it."

"The only explanation I can think of is some kind of psychosomatic response to whatever happened," Dr. Kido thought aloud, "Another explanation is that Ken's gifts are simply going away. It's well documented that children who demonstrate remarkable academic and physical development early in age do eventually return to average levels as an adult. In worse cases, the children's physical and mental aptitude actually diminishes below normal levels for an adult."

Ken didn't like that explanation either and he could see his partner off to the side, turning his head in concern. Dr. Kido cleared his throat and asked, "Tell me, Ken. How are you feeling now?"

"Like I've been insulted," Ken admitted with a frown, "Physically? In a daze. My head's been feeling fuzzy and things that I should remember clear are...painful to remember. Like it physically gives me a headache to try to remember it. Like when we were trying to decode Tamer's digivice earlier. I could barely remember half of what I should've already known."

"If that's the case Ken, I think I'd like to document what you can remember before you lose that too," Izzy said quickly, "It might be our best chance of decoding his digivice in the future."

He opened his laptop and brought it to Ken's side. On screen were a series of images of different glyphs from the Ancient language and walls scrawled with their language, "I hope you don't mind. I've tried my best to decipher it but my experience has been limited without access to the Digital World. Honestly, I'm still trying to figure out verb tenses. If they even have any."

"I'd be happy to share what I can remember," Ken frowned, "But I thought we were here to find out what's wrong with me?"

"I hate to say it Ken but there's nothing physically wrong with you," Dr. Kido said quietly, "It could be the effects of spending time in the Digital World. It's a world made of electronic and digital information, correct? Who knows what kind of impact that could have on someone who spends too much time there."

Ken frowned at this revelation, then looked to Joe who seemed to offer an apologetic smile. It seemed that there was little hope for him after all. He looked to the computer and translated the first glyph for Izzy, "That glyph there means 'Create life for the purpose of analysis.'"

Izzy raised an eyebrow, "That can't be right."

"It is," Ken explain, taking a moment to review some of Izzy's notes on the screen, "The language is intentionally convoluted to be confusing. Context clues about the surrounding hieroglyphs are just as important as the glyphs themselves as that can determine whether the glyph represents a single word or a whole sentence. By itself, it would mean 'the'. But since its between those two glyphs, it becomes a complete sentence - 'create life for the purpose of analysis'."

"Fascinating," Izzy said, already typing away this new information into his computer. Ken sighed, relieved that he was able to at least help in something today.

* * *

Cody swung his shinai rhythmically with his grandfather beside him, both shouting at the top of their lungs with each swing. Although he should have focused on that, his thoughts were on what Sora said about Ken. She wanted him to drop his suspicions and work with him, in spite of everything he did. Cody tried to rationalize the reason in his head - Ken was trying to make up for all the wrong he did. But it didn't seem like he ever could make up for it - enslaving digimon, capturing Kari's brother, humiliating Davis, creating a monstrosity. In fact, it seemed more reasonable to think that Ken hadn't given up any of those things and was just trying to undermine them instead, even though Cody really wanted to think that Ken had changed. They did this for some time until his grandfather finally signaled Cody that they could take a break. Cody removed his helmet, glad to be out of the sweaty clothes and feeling cool air on his skin.

His grandfather beckoned him to join him for a tube of yogurt, which Cody graciously ate to refresh himself. His grandfather finished first and noted, "Cody, your form is off and you've been swinging your sword more aggressively than normal. What's wrong? Is it something to do with the Digital World that you and Yolei are protecting?"

"Something like that grandpa," Cody frowned. He'd always known his grandfather was capable of sage advice but he wasn't sure if this was something his grandfather would be able to answer. Still, his grandfather had never steered him wrong and it would be an insult to ignore him now, "You remember how we talked about the Digimon Emperor, before? Well, we stopped him and...he's come to our side now. He says he wants to make up for the things he did, but I don't know that I can work with him or accept him as a part of our team. Not after the terrible things he did."

"Such as?"

Cody paused, "He enslaved digimon, killed others, made everyone else afraid of him, created a digimon so evil that it destroyed everything in its path, took Yolei hostage, tried to kill us so many times, not to mention the lives he ruined."

His grandfather listened attentively, noticing his pause and responded, "Continue."

"But we found out later on that he did it all to bring back his brother," Cody stated with uncertainty, "In the end, he was just trying to bring back a brother he lost years ago."

"And would you have done the same?" his grandfather asked. Cody wondered if senility had finally set in for his grandfather, "I don't have an older brother."

"You know who I meant," his grandfather stated. Cody's eyes shifted downward. In this context, it was a lot harder to answer, "I don't know what I would've done in his shoes."

"Then who are you to judge?" his grandfather asked.

"A digidestined!"

"The same as he is, correct?"

"Well-"

Before Cody could even mount a defense, his grandfather began, "I know what troubles you Cody. it's that sense of justice you inherited from your father. You both had a hard time seeing the bigger picture. One wrong may be someone else's right. Truth is, it's always been a matter of how you look at things. in this case, you look at this 'Emperor' and only see the boy who did so much wrong. What you don't see is that he's a boy who realized his mistakes and is doing what he can to make up for it."

Cody was taken aback, "I do see that, grandpa. I don't see how he can ever expect to make up for any of it."

His grandfather nodded in agreement, "Maybe. Actions that horrible may never be redeemed. But, the fact that he realized he was wrong and is trying to change is what matters. If he spent all his time dwelling on the past, he can never truly change and become a better person."

Cody looked at his grandfather, still uncertain of what he should think on Ken Ichijouji but did consider his grandfather's words. The last part stood out more than anything else - Ken had been stuck in the past trying to bring back a brother he'd lost. If Cody didn't learn to forgive Ken, would the same thing happen to him? It all made his head hurt and he massaged his temple.

* * *

Davis, Jun, and Taichi arrived at TK's apartment and knocked on the door. They heard the click of several locks before his mother let them inside, where Kari and TK were already sitting on the couch trying to figure out the math assignment. As soon as Taichi walked in, Kari dropped her pencil and her mouth fell open. Similarly, Taichi pointed at them, "Oh, I remember you guys. The creep and the cute girl."

"Tai," Kari mouthed out in shock.

"It was a misunderstanding!" TK pleaded. Taichi laughed and took Jun's hand, guiding her to the couch opposite TK and Kari. Taichi smiled, "I'm not the one who made her uncomfortable. How's your summer going?"

"Good," Kari squeaked, now flustered and unable to concentrate on the math problem in front of her. TK looked at Davis and mouthed, "What were you thinking?"

Davis answered by hopping over the couch to sit on Kari's other side, "I was thinking we could get some help from these guys since they're grades ahead of us. You don't mind, do ya?"

"No," Kari squeaked again, her voice starting to fail her. Jun added, "Well if anyone can help, it'll be Taichi. He just got to our school and he's already in the top ten in our grade."

Taichi smiled, "Yeah, I'd be happy to help. So what's up?"

Kari sheepishly slid her homework his way and he turned the paper over in his hand, "Oh this. I hated this. Yeah it's more tedious than hard, to be honest. Here, I'll write down the formula and how you're supposed to work through it."

He leaned across the coffee table towards Kari, turning the paper upside down and explaining the math to her while also writing on the paper. Once he was finished, TK blinked in disbelief, "Huh, that is a lot simpler than I thought."

"Yeah, even I got that," Davis nodded, "How come teachers don't teach this way?"

"I dunno. Something about making sure you know how to do it instead of making sure you get the right answer. I'm not the one you should ask," Tai shrugged, returning to Jun's side and taking out his own homework, "I'm the one who blew off his homework for most of the summer break. Let's get started."

"You did that, Taichi?" Kari blinked disbelievingly, as if she'd been slapped in the face. Jun giggled, taking out her own homework and adding, "He's smart. That doesn't mean he's not lazy."

"You weren't saying that when-" Taichi stopped himself before he even finished his sentence, his expression caught between surprise and embarrassment. Kari turned her head in surprise, curious to know what her 'brother' was going to say. It was hard to miss that Jun's face had turned just as bright red and now Davis was curious, "Whoa. What's with you guys? You're both red as beets."

"Hey! Let's get started on our homework!" Jun said quickly, putting her homework on the coffee table, "We've only got a few days of summer left!"

"Yeah, that's the truth," TK frowned. The awkward situation was broken by their D-Terminals all beeping loudly at once. Davis was the quickest to get his out, reading the message and rereading it again in disbelief. He looked at the others in surprise and they looked just as scared after reading the message. Thankfully, both Taichi and Jun were both too embarrassed by whatever Taichi was going to say to notice anything was wrong. They excused themselves and quickly retreated to TK's room where Patamon and Gatomon were busy listening to something on an old CD player together.

Patamon looked at them in surprise, "What's going on?"

"Yeah, why'd we have to hide in here?" Gatomon asked, looking at Kari's flustered face. Davis grumbled, "Okay, how the hell did she message our D-Terminals? Does she have one!?"

"No idea, but I bet everyone got the message too," TK responded. Gatomon blinked, "Who? What are you guys talking about. What's going on out there?"

"Nothing," Kari gasped, "What do you think we should do TK?"

"Get a hold of everyone else and send her a message back," TK answered, "I mean everyone."

"What's going on?" Patamon asked, snapping his finger to get their attention. Davis held up his D-Terminal so they could read the message for themselves, "Arukenimon sent us a message. And she wants to team up to stop BlackWarGreymon."

 


	35. Unlikely Friends

The digidestined snuck back into the school computer lab the next day to discuss Arukenimon's message to them. The message itself was worrisome, but the fact she'd been able to message them all at once was terrifying. How was she able to message their D-Terminals? Up until now, they'd only been able to receive messages from other D-Terminals? Was she a digidestined or something too? There were just too many questions.

Yolei had brought snacks for their digimon to munch on while the rest of them discussed what they would do. It began with Izzy repeating the message aloud for them.

_Digidestined_

_It's time we set our differences aside to deal with our common enemy - BlackWarGreymon. His decision to disobey my orders and go after the Destiny Stones is a problem for both of us. And neither of us are able to stop him on our own. I propose we cooperate to destroy him. Afterwards, we can return to our business of usual dislike for one another._

_If you're interested, meet me at these coordinates within the week: 41.934237,-88.7762577_

_I'll be waiting._

_Yours Truly,_

_Arukenimon_

_PS. Mummymon really wants you to know he says hi for some reason._

Everyone received the same message and no one was buying it for a second. Working together? Who was she kidding? Davis stated the obvious, "It sounds like a trap."

"Yeah it does," TK folded his arms and reread the message again, still hardly able to believe what he was reading, "But we haven't been able to stop BlackWarGreymon on our own either. Working with them could be our only chance since we don't know how long it will take to finally crack Tamer's digivice."

"It's a risk," Joe pointed out cautiously, "If we're going to go, it'd be better if we go in with a plan. Does anyone have any suggestions?"

"We could always rely on Paildramon and Silphymon," Yolei suggested, "I mean, they're pretty strong already!"

"Silphymon?" Joe repeated with a raised eyebrow. Yolei nodded excitedly, "Yeah, it was this cool digimon that showed up when Aquilamon and Gatomon DNA digivolved!"

Sora gasped out, "Oh, just like Paildramon. I never thought we'd see a DNA digivolution again after Diaboromon showed up on the internet. Forget about two of them at once."

"A digimon showed up on the internet? When did that happen!?" Davis blinked looking at Yolei and Izzy for an explanation, "How come nobody told me?"

"You don't use computers, genius," Yolei pointed out, "It's not like you would've known when it was happening, anyway."

"I don't think Davis knows how to use a computer," DemiVeemon giggled from the corner with the other digimon.

TK explained to them, "It was way before you were a digidestined, Davis. It was the last time any of us saw Tamer or Agumon before now. About a week after our adventure to the Digital World, a rogue digimon showed up on the internet and started messing with computers all across the globe. We tried to stop it when a group of Ancients showed up with digimon of their own. They were all killed except for two - Tamer and Agumon. But it wasn't the Tamer or Agumon we knew. Those two hadn't met us _yet_."

"What, like time travel?" Cody asked. Izzy nodded, "Apparently, it was a past version of them who would eventually meet us. We worked together and Tamer did...something that DNA digivolved Agumon and Gabumon to become Omegamon. Or Omnimon according to Tentomon."

"Which is special all by itself," Gatomon added knowledgeably, "Omegamon is the Royal Knight of the second seat who disappeared a long time ago along with the other knights. Some digimon think they've gone to sleep, just waiting to be woken up. The fact that Agumon and Gabumon became him...well, who knows what that could mean about any one of us?"

"Okay, I'll bite. What's a Royal Knight?" Poromon asked, looking to any of them to explain this story. Gatomon was the only one to answer, "According to Myotismon, they were an order of digimon who served the king of the Digital World. Which I've never heard of and I don't think the Digital World even has a king. Unless it means ShogunGekomon. Then that would explain a lot about the Digital World by itself."

Everyone had to stifle a laugh as the thought of ShogunGekomon in regal robes commanding knights came to mind. Gatomon went on to add, "Supposedly, the Royal Knights are the guardians of the Digital World but are content to sit on high. And, according to one of those prophecies Wizardmon was always reading, they only assemble during times of great crisis and crush anyone who would dare to violate the sacred laws of the king."

"Well, why hasn't one showed up?" Davis folded his arms, "I mean, I really think we could use one now with BlackWarGreymon blowing the Digital World up."

"Gabumon would become Omegamon again, but he needs Agumon to do that," Matt pointed out with a frown, "He's kind of powerless without him."

"Which bugs me. It sucks to see how dependent we are on Tamer just to get our big guns out," Joe mumbled sheepishly.

"Besides, we already have one. Remember?" Gatomon turned her attention to DemiVeemon, along with all the other digidestined. DemiVeemon blinked, mouth full of half-chewed chocolate, "Hey. Everyone's paying attention to me. I don't like that. What's everyone doing?"

"Magnamon's a royal knight," Gatomon explained, "The Guardian of Miracles or whatever. Although I don't think he can do much as an Ultimate. Then again, levels don't really mean much. I mean, BlackWarGreymon's a Mega but he took on MetalGarurumon no problem so who knows how strong he really is."

"Ultimate? Mega? What are you talking about?" Upamon bounced up and down anxiously, unable to contain the burst of sugary goodness running through him. Izzy blinked, and then slapped his forehead, "We never told you guys about digivolution levels did we?"

"There are levels to this?" Davis asked, pointing at the digimon. Gatomon nodded, gesturing at each of the digimon present, "That's right. These guys are all In-Training. Patamon and Wormmon are Rookies, and I'm a champion. When I digivolve, I become the Ultimate Angewomon. Veemon, Hawkmon, and Armadillomon are rookies. ExVeemon, Aquilamon, Ankylomon, Stingmon, and Angemon are champions. MagnaAngemon's an Ultimate. After that, there's Mega. The only one who can get that far is Gabumon when he becomes MetalGarurumon. And after that is Super Mega or Super Ultimate or something. Which is Omegamon or Omnimon or whatever."

"I've been meaning to ask about that Gatomon," Ken began, "Why is it that you're the only one who can consistently remain in the champion level when everyone else returns to their rookie state?"

"Years of working as Myotismon's slave," Gatomon's voice shook with repressed rage, eyes narrowing in anger, "His...training was brutal and he wouldn't stand for anything less than perfection. Perfection meaning getting exactly what he wanted. He even conditioned us to...react to certain words however we wanted - fear, anger, sorrow, mindless rage. Most of the digimon who served him became blindly loyal or completely lost their minds. I think the only reason I didn't lose my mind was because Wizardmon was there to look out for me."

Gatomon fell silent, recalling the Wizardmon she knew and lamenting that his memories of her would never return. Kari place a hand on her partner's head, "It's over now Gatomon."

"It isn't, though is it? Myotismon is out there some where. He's the whole reason we're in this mess," Gatomon added bitterly, her lips curled to reveal her fangs. TK added, "Speaking of Myotismon, who else thinks Arukenimon and Mummymon are just his minions too?"

"There's no doubt about that," Izzy frowned, "The question is: do we work with them to stop BlackWarGreymon or go it alone?"

"I don't know why we're giving this any thought at all," Cody interrupted angrily, "She's the bad guy. We shouldn't even be thinking about working with her."

"What? Like you shouldn't be working with me?" Ken rolled his eyes. Cody turned on the former Emperor with an open mouth but Sora stopped him before he could utter a word, "Knock it off, both of you. This is the last thing any of you should be doing right now."

"I'm just saying that I don't like the idea of working with her," Cody stated matter of factly, "She's done nothing but cause trouble for us since before we got here. Then suddenly, she wants to work with us? For all we know, she's just going to turn on us the moment she has BlackWarGreymon under control again. And we'll be in trouble if it goes anything like the last time we fought him."

Kari tried to reason with the boy, "Nobody's disagreeing with you Cody. We all think it's a trap."

"Then why are we thinking about working with her?" Cody argued back, flushed with anger, "We can handle BlackWarGreymon without her. We just need to come up with a different plan!"

"Like what?" Ken finally snapped, "Do you happen to have any ideas for how we can fight someone who fought every one of our digimon at once? A Mega and a Royal Knight, not to mention everyone else, at the same time and only got annoyed. And let's not forget that he blew up Infinity Mountain."

"No fighting, you two," Sora tried warning them again, only to be ignored when Cody spat back, "I don't know. You're the smart one, Ken. You come up with something!"

"Why? So you can watch my plan fail again? So I can watch you guys get killed like Sam, too?" Ken's voice shook between rage and sadness. Cody finally paused when he noticed Ken's eyes glaze over and realized what he was doing. The silence that followed unnerved him, especially when he glanced Davis looking at him angrily. Behind him, Yolei looked at Ken meekly while TK's was more pitiful. Kari seemed to be reaching out to the boy with her mouth hanging open to say something but nothing came out. The rest of the digidestined were left taken aback, haunted by something Cody wasn't quite sure he understood. Cody realized he may have pushed Ken past a line he shouldn't have and tried to apologize, but Ken had already picked up Wormmon, "Forget it. We're leaving."

"Ken, don't go-" Davis began but was stopped when Ken added, "No, this is my plan. You guys fight BlackWarGreymon without me. You'll probably be better off anyway. DigiPort Open!"

"Ken, don't!" Yolei reached for the boy just as he was pulled into the computer. Yolei grabbed his hand and felt the light pull her into the computer too, Poromon shouting her name behind her. When the light faded, she found herself standing with Ken and Wormmon in the middle of the forest. Before she could say anything, Ken turned on the small TV and smashed it with a rock - severing its connection to the Real World.

"Ken, what did you do that for?" Yolei demanded of the boy who tossed the rock aside. With a grunt, he answered, "You shouldn't have followed me, Yolei. Besides, isn't it obvious why? I'm not wanted there."

"I want you there," Yolei answered sheepishly, "We need you there. Cody just doesn't realize it yet."

"I think he does and that he doesn't care," Ken replied, "What do you think you'll accomplish by following me anyway?"

"Keep ya company," Yolei answered with a smile, looking back at the computer, "But I wish you hadn't destroyed our only way back."

Ken clicked his tongue, "Why do you care anyway? After what I did!? I-"

He paused, too ashamed of himself to talk about what he'd done. Yolei wrapped her hand around her neck, sickened by the memory of being choked to death. That grim reminded didn't help and he had to look away angrily. But she could see the remorse in his eyes and hear the regret in his voice. She swallowed, "I'm not happy about it either Ken, I was the one getting choked."

She regretted her choice of words the moment she said it, and was sadder when Ken turned away from her. He growled, "Then why did you come after me?"

"Because you didn't look like you wanted to go," Yolei explained, "Because you looked like you liked being there."

He didn't respond. Wormmon tilted his head and tapped his partner's chest, "You're not one of those weird girls who's obsessed with Ken, are you?"

Yolei felt a drop of sweat run down the side of her face as Wormmon added, "Sorry, I have to ask because Ken gets bothered by them a lot and it sounded like you were about to go that direction."

"N-no, of course not," Yolei waved her hands in front of her, "I mean…I used to be…but…"

She fell silent as Ken started walking away, his hands in his pockets, "We better find another monitor so you can get back to the others."

She might've pushed it too far. But she wasn't going to let him go off on his own either. She raced after the boy, intent on talking him into going back to help the others.

* * *

Davis stamped his foot and turned on Cody in a fit of anger, "What's your deal?"

"I-"

"No more fighting!" Sora slapped them both across the back of the head, "Unless you two are going to start throwing fists at each other, build a bridge and get over it already!"

"Isn't it counted productive to shout no more fighting before hitting someone?" TK noted then fell quiet when Sora turned an angry gaze his way, "I don't want another word out of anyone unless you guys are coming up with ideas for BlackWarGreymon or Arukenimon."

"What about Yolei? She went after Ken and Wormmon," Poromon frowned sadly, "We're not just going to leave her there are we?"

"I'm sorry Poromon," Sora frowned at the little digimon, "There's nothing we can do after Ken smashed the other side of the gate."

"Will she be all right on her own?" Cody worried, earning a snide remark from Davis, "Why? Think Ken or Wormmon are going to hurt her?"

"Stop it," Sora warned them again. Davis didn't say another word but did stick a tongue out at Cody. Sora grunted angrily while Matt stepped away from her nervously.

"What we really need to do is wing it," TK stated plainly, "It's like what Ken said when we fought Kimeramon. We need to be spontaneous and unpredictable, just like Tamer. What's something only Tamer would do in something like this?"

"Isn't it obvious? He'd turn the trap on them. Which is what we're trying to do." Izzy stated, "It's exactly what we did at the Coliseum years ago. Where are these coordinates, anyway?"

Even though he'd been the one to ask, he was already typing the numbers into the computer to see where they were in the Digital World. The gate on the screen opened, revealing what appeared to be a normal suburban household waiting for them on the other side. Matt blinked when he saw the screen, certain that it was a trick, "Okay, what? That looks like my grandmother's house."

"It's where we're supposed to meet her. You don't think she invited us to her place, do you?" Joe asked, "If she did, she might actually be sincere about the whole working together thing."

"But we're going back to fighting each other once we defeat BlackWarGreymon," Sora pointed out, nervously, "So what's the point of inviting us to her house?"

"Honestly, we should definitely scout it out," TK stated with a pointed finger, "We go in ahead of the rest and check to make sure it's safe. Then we bring the rest of you guys."

"And it'll have to be you guys since you can use the digieggs to get around the control spires," Sora added, "But not all of you. If this is a trap and you get caught, we won't be able to help out."

"Cody and I can go ahead," TK volunteered himself and the little boy with a raised eyebrow, "That way you guys can bail us out if anything goes wrong."

* * *

TK, Patamon, Armadillomon and Cody arrived outside the house. Through the computer screen, it seemed no bigger than any other house. In fact, it could easily be misconstrued for a picture from the Real World. Up close and in person, it was obvious that the perspective of the screen grossly misrepresented its actual scale. The door alone had to be twenty stories high, not accounting for the extra distance between the top of the door and roof of the two story abode.

Armadillomon tilted his head, "I don' see why she'd live in a place too big for 'er. I get she'd want a lil' extra room but this is ridiculous."

"We might've been wrong to assume it was her house," TK guessed, "Come on, let's have a look around so we can get back to the others."

Entering the house was simple because of their smaller stature - they just walked through the space under the door and entering a living room several hundred times larger than expected. The couch could easily fit their entire apartment complex several times over and the TV in front of it looked like a giant billboard in Tokyo. The kitchen was about a mile ahead, where the wood floor turned into checkerboard tiles.

"We've seen some crazy stuff in the Digital World but a giant house is definitely a new one," TK said aloud, stopping upon seeing the size of the refrigerator, "That thing's gotta be loaded, it could probably feed all our digimon for a year!"

"Or a day with how they eat," Cody said, Armadillomon looking away innocently with a whistle. Patamon ascended into the air to get a better view and glanced around, "It looks just like any normal kitchen. I don't see Arukenimon."

"Maybe she ain't home," Armadillomon guessed as Patamon rejoined them. Cody had already begun a message to the others on his D-Terminal, "I'll let the others know we're safe and looking around. It's weird. She invited us and didn't even show up to the meeting."

"Maybe she's still busy setting up her trap?" Armadillomon asked, looking behind him as if he expected Arukenimon to leap out and attack them. Patamon remained unconvinced, "I don't think so. If it were a trap, why wouldn't she just come out and attack us already. It's not like we could fight her or Mummymon off if they showed up. Not by ourselves anyway."

Cody pointed out, "Maybe that's part of the trap. Maybe she's waiting for us to call the rest of the team over."

"Yeah, let's not do that," TK pocketed his hands, "Let's keep looking around. It's a two story home so there can't be more places to go to around here. Besides, Arukenimon will show up eventually and from out of nowhere like she usually does."

"Hasn't anyone ever told you kids to knock before entering?" Arukenimon said on cue. TK sighed, "Like right now."

Arukenimon counted them out and frowned, "Where's the rest of your group?"

"Messaging them now to let them know we found you," Cody answered, typing into his D-Terminal but still asking, "Where's Mummymon?"

"Close by in case you kids try anything funny," Arukenimon assured them with a deadly smile, "I'm glad that you came though. BlackWarGreymon's becoming a bit of a problem since he refuses to obey orders."

"Yeah, because we definitely came here to help you get him back under control," Patamon rebuked. Cody's D-Terminal beeped before either side could start fighting back and he read aloud, "It's from Matt: _Question her so we know what we're up against_. I think we were already doing that."

His D-Terminal beeped a few more times and Cody read each message aloud, " _Ask her how she can turn control spires into digimon. Ask her why she wants to stop BlackWarGreymon. How do we know it's not a trap. What's her plan._ Wow, Matt's sending a lot of them."

TK smiled at that idea, "Leave it to Matt to be the skeptical one. Let's start with how do we know you're not playing some kind of twisted trick on us?"

"Why would I ask for your help and then try to attack you?" Arukenimon folded her arms, "If anything, I should be worried that your friends are nearby getting ready to attack me."

"You're the one who's been harassing the crap out of us. What's your game anyway? I thought you were trying to destroy the Digital World. That's what all the digimon we've fought were trying to do. You even created the spire digimon who were just mindless attacking machines. So why are you trying to destroy BlackWarGreymon since he's unstoppable? Unless," TK paused as it all sank in now that it was laid bare. It was so obvious that he was ashamed of not realizing it, "That's not your endgame. You don't want to destroy the Digital World, do you? Then what are you after? If it was destroying us, we'd probably get killed anyway fighting BlackWarGreymon. So what are you-"

"If you must know, it's to destroy you," Arukenimon answered, "Once that's done, I intend to retire to a long life in my lovely house. I can't do that if BlackWarGreymon destroys the Digital World at the same time. Hence: my problem."

"I thought BlackWarGreymon was after the Destiny Stones. What does that have to do with destroying the Digital World?" Armadillomon pointed out the first of many holes in Arukenimon's explanation. She flipped her hair and laughed, "What exactly do you think the Destiny Stones do? They're the corner stones of reality, the foundation upon which the barrier between other worlds and the Digital World is built. If anything happens to them, the Digital World collapses and the boundaries that separate it from other worlds cave in. Reality falls apart."

"That explains why we saw the Real World and the Dark Ocean," TK frowned, folding his arms, "But if that's true, what's that other digimon we see? The snake looking one?"

"Why are you asking me? I don't have all the answers," Arukenimon put a hand to her hips. Patamon rolled her eyes, "Gee, it feels like that's all we ever hear lately."

"So if the Destiny Stones help keep reality in tact," TK paused, trying to process this new tidbit of information, "Then…wait, is destiny still on track?"

"What are you talking about TK?" Patamon asked. TK quickly explained, "Remember? Tamer and Agumon were always trying to keep destiny on track. But neither of them have been around to supervise! So is Destiny even on track anymore?"

"If you must know, sort of but not really," Arukenimon folded her arms and grimaced, "Events that were already set in motion are playing out but other events that weren't supposed to happen…well, do you really think that Ken Ichijouji was ever supposed to bring his stupid brother back?"

TK looked at her with wide eyed surprise, "How do you know about that?"

"You'd be surprised what I know," Arukenimon smiled dangerously, unnerving TK. How much of his happy-go-lucky attitude had caused things that weren't supposed to happen? Were they even supposed to be meeting right now to team up? Cody's D-Terminal beeped like crazy as he tried to type everything that was being said.

"So what's the plan to stop BlackWarGreymon? You wouldn't have called us out here if you didn't have a plan," TK added quickly, trying to keep the conversation going to hide how unnerved he'd become. TK even uncrossed his arms and pocketing them quietly so that he could hold his digivice without being seen. He felt nothing but unease meeting Arukenimon under these circumstances, especially when she answered dryly, "My plan? Assemble the biggest army of spire digimon I have possible, then throw them all at BlackWarGreymon at the same time while you brats and your partners attack. Then just overwhelm BlackWarGreymon with sheer numbers."

"That plan won't work. We already tried it," Armadillomon stated solemnly, "Ya got anythin' else?"

"I was being sarcastic. You actually tried that? It's such a dumb plan," Arukenimon massaged her forehead, "No. My plan is much more eloquent. I still create the large army of spire digimon, but then use that army to bait BlackWarGreymon into a trap - Mummymon uses his bandages to ensnare the poor fool and then you combine your strength to lay into him. And you can't stop until he's gone, which may take a while given how powerful he is."

"And what's stopping you from turning on us the moment he's gone and our digimon are too tired to fight back?" TK asked seriously. Arukenimon shrugged, amused by his uncertainty and willing to press into it, "I guess you'll just have to take me at my word now, won't you?"

"You haven't done much to earn that trust," Cody reasoned quietly, "You've done nothing but send digimon to attack us since you first showed up. What's your problem any way? What did we ever do to you?"

Arukenimon smiled mischievously, "Do you honestly think that the digimon who supported the Emperor would be okay with what you did? If anything, it's a bigger surprise that you lot don't have a bigger target on your back."

"I don't think so," TK began, pointing out the next hole in her story, "If you're such a _big fan of the emperor_ , why did you spend so much time trying to take out Ken? You even had Thundermon knock him out!"

"Hey that's right!" Patamon agreed, "What's really going on Arukenimon!"

Arukenimon's mood soured, "I guess I was being too optimistic to think you'd fall for that. In truth, I just really don't like you digidestined. That's all."

"Lots of digimon don't like us. They don't go out of their way to kill us," TK asserted again, annoyed with her continued lies. Arukenimon's smile returned, "Are you so sure of that? BlackWarGreymon, Kuwagamon, Ninjamon, Starmon. All digimon who tried to attack and kill you of their own volition. I didn't pull any strings. The only guilt you can throw at me is that I allowed you idiots to go and do what you thought was the right thing. Admit it, you digidestined just aren't as liked as you think you are. Hard to imagine why when you're following The Digimon Tamer and Agumon around, the ridiculous idiots."

"You're doing that thing again where you sound like Myotismon," Patamon frowned, "When you talk to us, can you drop the dark and mysterious stuff? We got sick of it back when Tamer did it."

"You kids are becoming really annoying in that regard," Arukenimon scoffed, then began giggling to himself, "It's so amusing, y'know. Very well, I'll stop for now. Do we have an arrangement or not?"

"Not yet. First tell us how the control spires work. How are you able to turn them into digimon?" TK asked seriously. Arukenimon frowned, "It's the Digital World. Everything here is data, so alter the data and you get new creatures."

"That explanation doesn't make sense," Cody reasoned aloud, "If that were true, you could use that power on anything, not just the control spires. So what's really going on?"

Arukenimon's smile seemed to grow all the wider, "Tell me, what do you know about the control spires beyond that they emit the signal that inhibit normal digivolution and control the dark rings?"

"We know that nothing really grows around them," TK explained, "And anything that does grow starts to rot - like it's dying. But what does that have to do with anything?"

Arukenimon sighed, "You kids don't truly understand their full potential. Well, I suppose there's no harm in explaining this - they do more than just transmit signals. They absorb energy from their surroundings and help shape the Digital World."

"What for?" Armadillomon pressed, annoyed that she'd just reexplained what she'd already told them. Arukenimon groaned and demanded, "Enough questions. Do we have a deal or don't we?"

"Yeah, still messaging the answers to everyone," Cody said without looking up from his D-Terminal, typing away as fast as his fingers would let him, "You guys talk faster than I can type, so give me a second here. She...wants...to...know...if...we...have...a...deal...and send."

A few seconds passed before the reply message came and Cody read aloud, "It's from Kari. She'd like to know what you think on this TK."

"I think it's obviously a trap and we have next to no reason to trust her since she's still keeping secrets and...wow, I'm sounding kinda like Matt right now," TK slapped himself on the forehead, "I can't believe it."

"I can't say she's all that trustworthy either," Cody mulled aloud, typing into his D-Terminal. Armadillomon's opinion contrasted with Cody's and the boy nearly dropped his D-Terminal, "But it could be our only chance of stopping BlackWarGreymon. Why don't we take 'er up on the deal?"

"Armadillomon, please tell me you're joking," Cody said quickly at his partner, alarming the little digimon, "I'm just saying, why not worry about 'er later and focus on the big problem - BlackWarGreymon."

His D-Terminal beeped before he could reply and Cody read the message aloud, "It's from Sora."

He paused as he read the rest of the message, stunned at the conclusion the rest of them had reached and unable to bring himself to read it aloud. Patamon floated over to his side and asked, "Well, what's it say?"

"They voted while we weren't there. They say it's a deal," Cody paraphrased the message. None of them seemed surprise by this announcement. It just didn't make sense. How could anyone agree to working with Arukenimon? Ken at least made some sense. But Arukenimon made it clear that all she was after was destroying them. It made the poor boy shake with anger. It just didn't make any sense to him. Why would they choose to do this? He just couldn't understand it.

He looked away to hide his angry expression as Arukenimon chortled, "Very well. I'll stay in contact with you kids until one of my spire digimon happens to spot BlackWarGreymon again. That poor rampaging fool is off screaming his head off about the Destiny Stones and being unable to find them. As if he could find something that Tamer and Agumon spent years searching for - only managing to find one by accident."

"How will we know when you-"

"Don't worry about that," Arukenimon smiled sweetly, "Now get out of my house. I have a bubble bath to get back to."

TK and Cody swapped glances, both stifling a laugh as they tried to imagine her trying to bath in a tub the size of a lake. It'd be a miracle if she didn't drown in it.

* * *

Yolei read through the messages that Izzy had forwarded to her and frowned at the outcome. She couldn't argue against them because it probably was their only chance of defeating BlackWarGreymon. She just wished she had been there to voice her disagreement with their logic. It was too late to worry about what could've been now though. All that mattered was that she persuaded Ken to come back with her - which wasn't going very well since he was adamant that about not going back. Even Wormmon had been unable to sway his opinion.

"I understand what you two are trying to do but you're not listening to what I'm saying," Ken repeated again, "I am a jinx. If I go, there's a good chance you guys will be killed too. Believe me, it's better for everyone if I just don't go anywhere near your team."

"Ken, that was in the past. Do you honestly think anything will ever change if you keep hanging on to every little thing that went wrong in your life?" Yolei reasoned with him, "I mean...sure, the things you did right weren't _good guy_ things but you still did them! You dug up Ancient temples and ships, figured out how to make all their tech work, we saw you pilot a Mekanorimon, and that's just the stuff you did in the Digital World. You're an ace student, have a whole bunch of black belts, a star soccer player, on top of all the others things that you've done. So stop thinking you're such a screw up!"

He hadn't said a word after she was done which made her nervous, continuing to walk without saying anything. Impatiently, she said, "Ken, come on. Talk to me."

"You don't know the first thing about me, Yolei," Ken grumbled, continuing to walk.

"I think I know you better than you give me credit for Ichijouji," Yolei growled, running in front of him and forcing him to look her in the eye. And she wished she hadn't when she saw his misty eyes. He looked away and walked over to a tree, his partner following along, "Ken, don't be upset. It doesn't do you any good."

"I..." he paused, gaze fixed on the tree in front of him. Yolei reached out to him at first, but pulled her hand away. There was something he wanted to say, but he couldn't say it. She feared what it could be, scared about what could shake him the way it did. He shook his head, "I'm...so tired of watching people I care about die because of me. It's like I said, spend enough time around me and you will die."

"Well, we're all still here," Yolei folded her arms, "I mean…none of us are dead yet. All this curse talk and jinx stuff isn't doing you any good. It's not helping your esteem. Like I said: I'm still here. So are the others, and we've been working together for a while to fight BlackWarGreymon! None of us are dead yet."

"Give it time," Ken spat at her, finally storming off into the forest. Just as Yolei was about to go and give chase, she hear the boy shout back at her, "At this rate, if it's not you guys, it'll be me who dies!"


	36. Joint Assault

TK, Pegasusmon, Cody, and Armadillomon regrouped with the others at the edge of the village where the digimon were just now repairing the damage to the walls from SkullGreymon. As they passed through into the village, the guards who were supposed to be on their side proved distant and indifferent.

If it weren't for Wizardmon and Ogremon coming to join them, they would've felt unwelcome here. Wizardmon folded his arms, "You lot aren't being seen in the most positive of lights lately. I can't blame them though. In the past few weeks alone, you've colluded with the former Digimon Emperor, apparently killed a Minotarumon, possibly destroyed Agumon - that's still causing confusion among the population since none of you are talking about it, and ran off afterwards."

"Wizardmon, you know we're here to help, right?" Gatomon asked the wizard. He nodded quietly, keeping his arms crossed, "I'm not the one you need to convince. And if word gets out that you're working with another evil digimon - then there'll be nothing you can do to convince other digimon of that."

"Ken has changed, though," Davis said in his defense, "He's on our side and helping us."

"Once again, I'm not the one you need to convince Davis," Wizardmon stated matter of factly, "I'm already on your side. You need to convince other digimon of that fact. The question remains: How are you going to do that when you've openly worked with the former Emperor?"

"I...don't know," Davis' eyes went downward. Ogremon tapped his club on the ground, "Hey, don't feel too bad about it guys. I wasn't liked too when I first showed up. Now look at me! I'm hanging out with ShogunGekomon and Andromon - even if they are goody-two-shoes."

"And it's nice to have you on our side, Ogremon," Sora smiled, patting the digimon's arm and making him blush, "Oh, well thanks."

"So what are we supposed to do now? Arukenimon said she'll contact us but that just gives her a better chance to plan an ambush for us when we beat BlackWarGreymon," Gabumon pointed out quietly, "And I don't like how we just wing it lately."

"Easy, we just keep looking for the destiny stones ourselves. I mean, we found two in like a week so they're not that hard to find," Davis said optimistically, punching one hand into another, "Then we tell Arukenimon to come to us. That way, we can stop her from coming up with a plan before she has one."

"While I like your idea Davis, we don't really know where to start looking. Or what we can do to even stop her," Tentomon reasoned, "Do you know Izzy? Um…what are you doing?"

"Hm?" Izzy looked up from his D-Terminal and was taken aback to see everyone staring at him, "Oh, I'm just messaging Mimi right now so she knows what's going on."

"Still trying to keep her in the loop, huh?" Matt raised an eyebrow. Izzy nodded and returned to messaging her, "Yolei too, since she's still with Ken. She says she's trying to talk to him but it's not going well."

"I'm relieved to know she's okay," Hawkmon peered over Izzy's shoulder to see their messages, "Has she said when she will be rejoining us? I'm worried."

"I don't think Ken's going to do anything to her," TK stated sheepishly, Hawkmon shaking his head, "You misunderstand. I'm not worried about what Ken will do to her. I'm worried about what she'll do to Ken."

"Oh right, she's his _fan_ ," TK face palmed, "Wait, she's still a fan of his? I thought she'd be mad after…what happened."

"Surprisingly, no," Hawkmon stated, "Don't forget that she went to visit him afterwards to make sure he was okay. She may not openly express her concern, but she is worried for him. However, she is still Yolei. At some point, she may say something that puts her foot in her mouth."

"That's the truth," Davis chuckled, unaware that nobody else was in a laughing mood at that moment. He apologized for the awkward moment then asked, "Right, so the destiny stones? How do we find them before Arukenimon or BlackWarGreymon?"

"I was thinking about that. Last time, the destiny stone appeared when BlackWarGreymon was about to destroy Magnamon," TK pointed out, "So I was thinking…why did he notice it then? More importantly, why was the destiny stone glowing?"

"It could be that it resonated with BlackWarGreymon," Izzy put forward, until TK interrupted, "But then why can't he find the rest? I don't think it had anything to do with BlackWarGreymon. I think it was Magnamon."

"That'sh kinda a leap ain't it?" Veemon asked, "I don't remember anything glowing when BlackWarGreymon wash poundin' me."

"But did you feel anything?" TK stressed. Veemon shrugged, "I felt like that time Davish tripped over one of hish shocksh and fell on me."

Davis sighed in exasperation as Veemon seemed to realize something, "There wash another thing, though. It wash…like I wash on fire. Y'know, like when Davish is doing real good at hish shoccer practice and he can't shtop."

"Would you recognize that feeling if you felt it again?" TK asked excitedly. Veemon nodded, "I think sho."

"I don't like where this is going," Cody stated, "It's no different from just flying around for hours looking for something without knowing what we're looking for. Even if we could use Veemon as a beacon, we have no idea where we're going to find the next one."

"Do you have a better idea?" Gomamon asked him.

"No," Cody answered sheepishly, unaware of Izzy typing on his laptop, "I do. I just ran BlackWarGreymon's data through the database Tamer left me. He's listed as a Mega Virus type digimon that belongs to the Metal Empire and Nightmare Soldiers."

"Great, what does that mean?" Davis asked. Cody sighed, "Did you forget? We talked about this. Digimon have levels, types, and attributes. That means some of our digimon might have an advantage over BlackWarGreymon."

"We do. And as it happens, the vaccine digimon are Nefertimon, Pegasusmon, Magnamon, Garudamon, MetalGarurumon, MagnaAngemon, Angewomon, Zudomon, MegaKabuterimon, Ankylomon. Factor in where the strengths and weaknesses lie and three digimon pop out above the rest: Magnamon, MagnaAngemon, and Angewomon. Well, Nefertimon and Pegasusmon too. The point is, they're listed as either Holy Beast or Virus Buster which counteract the Nightmare Soldier part of BlackWarGreymon's data file."

"But we tried that before," Kari protested, "He beat them all down."

"Because you guys went at him piece meal," Sora explained to them, "We all went one at a time instead of working together. If you go at him together, we'll stand a better chance."

"We could use the golden noose to tie him down," Gatomon suggested quietly. Biyomon gestured to her herself and the other digimon, "That would give us time to pile on and hold him there."

"Then we can switch over to our other forms and really lay into him while he's pinned," Patamon said excitedly. Armadillomon jumped at the chance to add, "And I don' see why we can't just pound him while we're holding him!"

"Isn't this exactly what Arukenimon's plan is? Only with less digimon?" Cody asked quietly, only to realize that nobody had heard him.

"Then it's settled," Davis nodded, "Let's go find that Destiny stone!"

"You guys can go ahead," Izzy nodded, "I'm going to see if I can make some more progress on cracking Tamer's digivice. Message me and Tentomon whenever you find it and we'll come running."

"I'll stay too and wait for Yolei to return," Hawkmon nodded in agreement, "I won't be much use to you without her anyway."

"Now can we go find the Destiny Stone?" Davis asked, to which TK nodded. He punched the air as he always did, "Alright! Next stop, Destiny Stone! DIGIARMOR ENERGIZE!"

Yolei and Wormmon continued walking through the Digital World just behind Ken who was more focused on finding a gate to send them back than listening to them. Izzy messaged her on the D-Terminal to let her know what she was missing. He was going to try to crack Tamer's digivice on his own while the others used ShogunGekomon to try and crack the digivice. Ken unfortunately didn't seem interested in going back to help them, "I'd say good luck but they'll get all the good luck they need without me there."

"Ken, we really should go back in case they need us," Wormmon pleaded with his partner, "We don't have to _help_ them, we can just watch and then we can help if things get bad."

Ken answered with silence, looking down at his D-3 to see how much further they had to go and responding, "It's not our problem any more Wormmon. We helped out as best as we can and that's all I said we were going to do. Remember?"

"I know Ken. But can you let your friend down?" Wormmon asked, reminding Ken of his exchange with Davis. He shook his head, "He was wrong to put his faith in me."

"Then what about me?" Yolei asked from just behind him, annoyed that Ken still seemed content to ignore her, "I mean - I was a fan of yours before I knew you were the Digimon Emperor. I could tell back then that you were going to do a lot awesome things. Believe me, if I'd have known that you and I were going to be digidestined together...well, that would've been a dream come true."

"And now?" Ken finally stopped in his tracks to look back at her. Yolei paused, taken aback by the blank expression on his face but resolved to convince him to come back. Without thinking, she explained, "I came to see you, remember? I went to check on you after...well, you took me hostage. The point I'm trying to make is that I don't think of you as a screw up. Let's be honest, Davis is more of a screw up. I have no idea how he's gotten this far in life but he always managed to squeak by. And I think it's because he doesn't really stop trying when it comes to anything in his life."

Ken grunted and decided to start walking again, and Yolei groaned as she struggled to keep up. Then she paused, realizing there was a question she never thought to ask, "What persuaded you to come back?"

"You needed help," Ken replied quickly. Yolei shook her head, "No. I mean, what convinced you to go back to the Digital World to get Wormmon. You were a mess the first time I visited you. The next time I saw you, you had Wormmon back and you two saved the day. What made you decide to go get your partner?"

"Agumon," Ken answered quickly, surprising her, "He showed up in my room and urged me to go find Wormmon. He told me that I didn't have to do it to save the Digital World or my brother. Then he told me to embrace my destiny."

"And what's your destiny?" Yolei asked. Ken threw his arms up in frustration and screamed, "I don't know! That's the problem! I don't know what I'm supposed to do! I keep trying to do the right thing but it seems every choice I make is the wrong one. Every decision I make only serves to make things worse for everyone around me."

"That's not true," Wormmon shouted at his partner, "You chose to follow Arukenimon and we have an idea of what her plan is because of that. You chose to help the digidestined and we saved the village from being flooded. Then we helped stop SkullGreymon by becoming Paildramon. Not every decision you've made has been wrong Ken."

"But the decisions I've made have led to a lot of people I care about being hurt," Ken reasoned, "And it seems like my destiny is to always do the wrong thing."

"Then isn't the wrong thing the thing what you're doing right now?" Yolei pointed out to him, finally making the boy pause. He turned to look at her with a horrible fire in his eyes, as if he'd just been insulted horribly. He opened his mouth to say something, pointing at her as if to accuse her and she flinched instinctively. Then nothing. Just silence as he lowered his arms and sighed, "Okay. What should I do then?"

"Buh?"

"What should I do?" Ken threw up his arms in frustration, "It's obvious to me that any choice I make of my own volition will just cause more problems. So...what should I do? Tell me and I'll do it."

Yolei's mind raced with different ideas - she'd never had a boy literally asking her what to do. And she wasn't sure what the correct answer to give him was. The idea of having her own personal boy toy didn't escape her either, but she'd be horrible to actually take advantage of someone like this. It would be easy to tell him to go back and help the others - that they needed their help. But that obviously wasn't what he wanted to hear. So what could she tell him? He was so convinced that he was a jinx that he'd probably fight her on it the moment she brought it up. And anything else she suggested would just be shot down right away by the argument that he'd bring ruin to whatever it was. It shouldn't have been this hard to come up with an answer.

She chose her words carefully, "I don't know, but what you can't do is mope and feel sorry for yourself all the time."

"Everyone already tells me that," Ken snapped, "What should I do besides that? That's what I'm asking."

Yolei felt a lump form in her throat as she croaked out her next answer, "Don't give up. That's what you do. Don't give up or give in."

Ken leered at her, stepping so close to her that he came just inches away from her face. She could feel his breath on her skin at this distance, and it made her shake with each breath he took. He nodded, "Okay, I won't give up. Let's go back."

"Really Ken? We're not just going to run away again, are we?" Wormmon asked excitedly. Ken nodded, "Yeah, we're going back."

"Which way is back?" Yolei asked seriously, uncertain of what the boy meant, "Are we going back to the Real World or are we going to join the others."

"We're going to help the others stop BlackWarGreymon," Ken explained, "And then we're going to help wake up Agumon."

He wasn't smiling but his mood seemed to have improved. That was enough for now, she supposed. She looked down at Wormmon, who smiled, "Thanks Yolei. It would've taken me a long time by myself."

Yolei patted the little worm on the head, "Don't worry about it. Let's go."

Magnamon led the way with the others just behind him, scanning the ground beneath him in search of a stone that he wasn't entirely sure was there. All the while, he'd look up nervously in case BlackWarGreymon showed up in his rampant pursuit of the Destiny Stones. That was the last thing any of them needed after their last string of defeats from BlackWarGreymon - for him to show up and rampage once again.

He didn't want to have to fight BlackWarGreymon before they had to which made it that much more important that he find it. It was just a question of how far they'd have to go. They traveled for what felt like hours before eventually coming across a desert teeming with control spires in every direction. Or so it seemed at first.

When they looked closer, they could see plenty of dried and decaying plant life on the ground - grass, flowers, bushes, and what remained of tree stumps wilting away in what should have been a forest environment. And at the heart of it all was the control spires - each sapping away life from the area.

"This is awful," Cody grumbled, "We need to destroy these control spires before they do more harm than good to the Digital World."

"Arukenimon may break off the deal if we do that before we stop BlackWarGreymon," TK reasoned. When Cody opened his mouth to rebuke, TK added, "I don't like it either Cody."

"Are we sure we're the good guys?" Cody asked seriously, "We shouldn't be working with her."

"Can we not fight?" Magnamon shouted at them, feeling a light fluttering in his heart, "Um...I'm feeling that weird tingling again."

"You're glowing too!" Davis pointed out. He looked down in time to see his golden armor flashing bright golden light. They all scanned the horizon and saw a small glimmer of golden light off in the horizon, blinking in time with Magnamon's armor. Kari cheered, "Great plan, TK."

"Congratulate each other later," Pegasusmon sped forward towards the stone, the others following along just behind. As with the previous two stones - this stone had nothing in common with the others. The first resembled a floating ball, the second a mound of dirt. This stone looked like it put on several hundred pounds after putting the ring on, its center squeezed so tight that the rest of it seemed to bulge in protest. The digidestined circled around it, wondering how this stone managed to go unnoticed in a massive open field with the ring pulsating in time with Magnamon's golden armor.

Cody wasted no time getting a message out to Izzy, Arukenimon, and Yolei so that they knew they had a stone - along with coordinates. He thought to message Ken, but hesitated - uncertain of if he could trust the boy. He only decided not to since he figured Yolei would just let him know. He felt childish, being so unwilling to talk to him but also guilty at the thought of interacting with him at all. Right away, he got his responses - Izzy was coming with Tentomon and Hawkmon, while Yolei was on her way with Stingmon and Ken. He blinked when he read that - either Yolei had managed to convince Ken to come back or he was just taking her to the others.

"So what are we going to do to set up our own trap?" Matt hopped off MetalGarurumon and examined the stone carefully, "This whole place is out in the open and there's no real place we can hide anything."

"No idea. Honestly, I'm just coming with ideas as they come to me. We could always try moving it," TK suggested, approaching the rock and placing a hand on it. As soon as he did, a horrible burning ran up his arm and the world seemed to shake so violently that he fell to the ground. For a moment, TK could see the Real World before him. Then the Dark Ocean's lonely lighthouse overseeing a barren beach, an alien world of warping colors and nightmares, a world where people hid in walls from giants, a world locked in an eternal war with itself, a calm and tranquil place where people traveled freely, a lonely castle perched above a lake where children learned magic, and finally a blinding white light where he saw four deific figures staring down at him. One he recognized as the mysterious serpentine figure that spoke something incomprehensible. Then nothing but pain as TK flew back away from the rock.

Matt and Pegasusmon were at his side right away, "TK!"

"What was that?" Davis asked, going over to kick the stone as hard as he could. The instant his shoe touched the stone, he flew back several feet and slid to a stop beside TK. Now it was Magnamon and Kari's turn to worry, "Davis!"

"Huh, I think I'm crazy now," Davis scratched his head. TK looked over at the boy, "Did you see what I saw too? All those worlds."

"I saw stuff that didn't make sense," Davis muttered angrily, "Tamer was there but he wasn't…calling himself Tamer or anything. And there was a weird digimon called Parallelmon. And Veemon put on a lot of weight. I don't know. I mean, what the crap did I just see?"

None of them knew where to begin dissecting what Davis had said. And before they could they heard the sound of thunder echoing in the distance, followed by a screaming that grew louder. Sora cursed, "Don't tell me that is who I think it is."

"What else could it be?" Garudamon asked, spreading out her wings, "Everyone get ready for a fight."

"But Yolei, Stingmon and Ken aren't here yet," Kari worried, "Neither are Izzy, Hawkmon, or Tentomon. We can't get Paildramon or Silphymon without them."

"We'll just have to make do without them," Nefertimon, ascending into the sky, "Are you ready to hold him down Pegasusmon?"

"If we can," Pegasusmon shook nervously, "Has Arukenimon said how close she is?"

"Nothing," Cody checked his D-Terminal, "Some help she turned out to be.

TK was already coming up with a plan, "We'll improvise. Pegasusmon and Nefertimon can tie him down - then Zudomon can help pin him down with his hammer!"

"He'll just blow us off again," Zudomon explained, "We need a better plan than that."

"But it was Arukenimon's plan," Cody argued until Joe added, "I think that's why she wanted to wear him down with an army of spire digimon. Our digimon are strong, but they're not going to match the raw strength of a hundred digimon."

"Then we'll just have to hold out until the cavalry arrives," Davis said, punching the air, "Magnamon!"

Magnamon nodded his understanding, "I'll hit him with everything I have."

"Which will be soon given how loud the screaming's getting," Zudomon readied his hammer like a bat and stepped in front of the Destiny Stone protectively, "Who thinks I'll knock it out of the park?"

"A sports reference? I had no idea Joe liked sports," Davis looked dumbfounded at the older high school student who offered his sheepish explanation, "Enjoying something and being good at it are two radically different qualifiers."

"Joe, I get enough moon man talk from Izzy. Don't you do it too," Zudomon complained. Over the horizon, they could see the black figure that was the source of the screaming drawing closer and ever so louder. It was an animalistic cry of pure instinct, a scream filled with just as anger as it was pain. At the speed BlackWarGreymon was flying, there was no doubt that he would be here any second. Zudomon steadied himself, watching the screaming mega carefully until he was on top of him and swung his hammer with all his might, "Vulcan's Hammer!"

The swing hit BlackWarGreymon head on, shattering the head of the hammer and sending the mega flying back in the direction he came. Davis cheered excitedly, "Alright, home run!"

It was one second too soon as BlackWarGreymon corrected himself in the air and stared down at them in surprise, just now realizing they were there. Joe adjusted his glasses and remarked, "I think that's a foul ball. Or a pop up."

"Stick to the plan!" Sora reminded them all at once, "We're only going to get one try at this."

"YOU!" BlackWarGreymon roared, "How many more times are we going to have to fight? Stay out of my way or I will slaughter you all!"

"You keep saying that, but we keep getting back up to fight you," Magnamon said, "Stop destroying the Destiny Stones and we'll leave you alone for as long as you'd like."

"The destiny stones are what it takes to summon my opponent," BlackWarGreymon growled, "My great foe, coward that he is, always flees. If he won't face me, then I'll destroy every last one of them."

Magnamon's shoulders slumped as reasoning with the mega failed and he charged, "Fine. MAGNA PUNCH!"

BlackWarGreymon raised one hand and caught Magnamon's fist in his, "That won't work twice."

"MagnaKick!" Magnamon tried again, swinging his free leg around to hit BlackWarGreymon head on, only to be caught by BlackWarGreymon's other arm, "It's not working."

Magnamon had BlackWarGreymon exactly where he wanted him and prepared his next attack, "I just wanted you right where I could hit you. MAGNA IMPACT!"

A powerful blast of golden light radiated from Magnamon's body, cracking part of BlackWarGreymon's armor and throwing him back. Blinded and unable to defend himself, Nefertimon and Pegasusmon took the chance to strike by summoning the golden light between them, "GOLDEN NOOSE!"

They ensnared the blinded mega and slammed him onto the ground where the other digimon sprang into action - Garudamon, Zudomon, and, Ankylomon all piled onto BlackWarGreymon to pin him there. Nefertimon and Pegasusmon pulled away, regressing to Gatomon and Patamon together while MetalGarurumon hurried to clear out the surrounding control spires, "ICE WOLF CLAW!"

He blanketed the surrounding field with rockets, striking the spires and turning them to raw data for destroy the inhibition on digivolution. Able to digivolve freely, Kari and TK raised their digivices towards their partners.

"Patamon! Digivolve to! Angemon!"

"Gatomon! Digivolve to! Angewomon!"

"Angemon! Digivolve to! MagnaAngemon!"

The two angel digimon ascended skyward to join Magnamon, while MetalGarurumon joined the others in pinning BlackWarGreymon down. With all four of them holding a limb, they were better able to manage the mega levels brute strength. Ankylomon swung his tail on the pinned digimon to keep him down while Garudamon and Zudomon used their fists to beat him, barely putting a dent in his armor but obviously angering him more.

"What is this?" BlackWarGreymon snarled, "A trick? Is this how you plan on beating me? Do you really think you can keep me here?"

"No, we just need you to hold still," Angewomon declared, nocking an arrow into her bow. Magnamon followed her lead and glowed with a powerfully bright light, and MagnaAngemon readied his sword. BlackWarGreymon raised his arm and pushed away Garudamon, then punched Zudomon in the head with all his strength. With both digimon gone, he was free to shake off Ankylomon but MetalGarurumon held tight with his jaw clamped down hard on BlackWarGreymon's leg. It was now or never.

"Celestial Arrow!"

"Magna Impact!"

The beam of golden light mixed with the arrow, creating a pure white light that struck BlackWarGreymon in the chest. The mega level paused as pain rippled through his body, and MagnaAngemon rushed in to deliver a final blow, "EXCALIBUR!"

He swung his blade as hard as he could, stabbing his sword right through BlackWarGreymon's stomach. The mega froze, locked in place and they were sure that they'd beaten the mega level digimon. But he didn't dissipate. He didn't disappear. He lingered far longer than he should have and MagnaAngemon was left confused. Confusion became fear when BlackWarGreymon roared in anger.

The angel digimon drove his sword in further until his own hand was pressed against the mega level digimon but all this did was make him roar louder in pain. Then he felt his helmet crack as BlackWarGreymon grabbed it, then used it to raise the angel into the air. The ultimate swung his sword to stab BlackWarGreymon's arm but was unable to hit it. This was made worse by BlackWarGreymon using him as a hammer to beat at MetalGarurumon until the mega had no choice but to let go.

Then the mega rounded on the digidestined, "You can't just stay out of my way, can you?"

"We have some trouble with that, yeah," Stingmon shouted, appearing from behind BlackWarGreymon to sweep his legs and flatten him on his back. BlackWarGreymon roared in anger at the cheap trick while the others cheered in excitement. Ken and Yolei came running over the horizon, and Davis cheered in excitement, "It's Ken!"

BlackWarGreymon pushed himself back off the ground and growled, "I'M DONE! YOU DIE FIRST!"

He darted towards Ken and Yolei, both of whom slid to a stop when they saw the mega coming their way. Ken pushed Yolei behind him, taking a defensive stance to try and protect her. But it was an empty gesture, as he'd already shown he couldn't use his martial skill as well as he could have. If BlackWarGreymon got to him, they'd both be killed. Thankfully, he was stopped by an arrow of light striking the ground in front of him. He stopped in his tracks just short of Ken and Yolei, and looked back at his attacker.

"Leave them alone!" Angewomon fired another arrow at BlackWarGreymon. His movements were slower but he reacted just as quickly, prepping the shield on his back and using it to deflect the arrow back into the sky. Ken and Yolei saw their chance and ran to rejoin the others. BlackWarGreymon roared in anger at being denied his kill, then ascended skywards towards the angel digimon. Kari gasped in panic, only able to breathe relief when she saw the Magnamon intercept BlackWarGreymon, "How about I be your dance partner?"

"I don't dance," BlackWarGreymon growled through a punch, which Magnamon blocked with raised arms. But the force of the impact was more than enough to knock Magnamon away - throwing him into the distance. Angewomon nocked another arrow, ready to attack but unable to match BlackWarGreymon's speed. He'd rushed her with his right arm raised. He would've hit her too, if a lengthy bandage hadn't appeared from beneath him to wrap around his arm. BlackWarGreymon traced it down to a familiar old man wearing a long blue coat and mumbling, "Come now, is that any way to behave around a lady?"

Mummymon. And beside him was Arukenimon wearing the same scowl she always had. She frowned, looking at the digidestined and scolding them, "What happened to our agreement?"

"We sent you a message," Cody shouted, "Now let's do the plan you came up with."

Arukenimon sighed, putting a hand to her head, "You agreed to work with us and then ran off on your own. We'll help for now but don't think that word of this isn't going to get around."

She put two fingers into her lips and whistled as loud as she could, summoning a cloud of digimon so large that they darkened the skies. The army consisted of nothing but champion digimon - Thundermon, Kuwagamon, Mammothmon, Minotarumon, Snimon, Devidramon, Airdramon, Megadramon, and Tyrannomon. The army moved on BlackWarGreymon and he reveled in the oncoming challenge, leaving the digidestined and their partners free to move away to safety.

Mummymon still had BlackWarGreymon on a leash and drew a large machine gun from within his coat. He took aim and fired, peppering the digimon who readied his shield to protect himself. Using this shield, BlackWarGreymon rushed Mummymon but was interrupted by an Airdramon and Megadramon moving in his way. BlackWarGreymon roared in anger and obliterated the two digimon with a stab from his gauntlets. Then he continued on unabated towards Mummymon who smiled in amusement at the digimon's mad rush, "Come now, be civil."

BlackWarGreymon dove faster and Mummymon had to laugh at the digimon, allowing himself to be smashed by the mega level digimon. A great dust cloud rose up at the impact crater, revealing BlackWarGreymon restrained by more bandages that held him in a pose like a mummy. Mummymon's disembodied voice laughed, "Now, now, let your mummy give you a hug."

"Are you just going to stand there or are you going to finish this?" Arukenimon looked at the digidestined expectantly. Magnamon, Angewomon and MagnaAngemon took their cues and charged back into to take another swing at BlackWarGreymon.

"Magna PUNCH!" Magnamon went first and struck the mega as hard as he could in the face. Then Angewomon went next, loosing another arrow into his chest, "Celestial Arrow."

MagnaAngemon went last, tracing a circle with his sword to summon a gate to the void, "Gate of Destiny."

The golden gate appeared before them, cracking open to a loud roar of wind that sucked in anything in front of it. The moment it pulled BlackWarGreymon in, Mummymon let go and dug himself into the ground. BlackWarGreymon was frozen once again, stunned by the pain of the attacks he'd endured but able to retain enough self awareness to grab hold of the edges of the gate before it pulled him in.

"You've got to be kidding me," TK panicked, "How is he resisting that?"

"Spite," BlackWarGreymon roared, pulling himself out slowly. Sora called out to Garudamon, "Stop him before he gets free!"

Garudamon nodded and motioned to the other digimon to join her in a counter attack.

"Wing Blade!"

"Ice Wolf Claw!"

"Celestial Arrow!"

"Magna Impact!"

The attacks hit their mark, showering BlackWarGreymon with a wave of fire, light, smoke, and pain. But he still held on, refusing to disappear into the gate. Ankylomon rushed in and swung his tail as hard as he could to try and knock the mega free only to find his tail caught at the last second.

"Uh oh," was all Ankylomon managed to say before the injured BlackWarGreymon managed to swing the poor digimon onto the gate itself, slamming into its golden arch until cracks began to appear. Their partners jumped into to pull Ankylomon free and stop BlackWarGreymon. Garudamon and MetalGarurumon rammed him as hard as he could while Zudomon, Stingmon, and Magnamon tried to break BlackWarGreymon's grip, first trying to pry his fingers open and then resorting to smashing his arm until the grip weakened.

In a fit of rage, BlackWarGreymon threw Ankylomon at Zudomon, then grabbed a hold of Magnamon, "If I go. You go too. Don't you forget it."

"Guys, back up," Magnamon warned the others, persuading Garudamon, Stingmon, and MetalGarurumon to flee away. Once it was just him and BlackWarGreymon, Magnamon concentrated the last bit of strength he had and released it, "MAGNA IMPACT!"

It blinded BlackWarGreymon before and stunned him long enough for the others to restrain him. It should have worked a second time. And it did. But at this close range, Magnamon's attack also shattered the now weakened gate - crumbling it to dust and causing another earthquake. When the light cleared, Veemon lay face down with BlackWarGreymon looming over him with a battle hardened scowl.

He was still, unmoving and trying to recover from the blows he'd been dealt. Arukenimon saw this and whistled at her ground based digimon - triggering a stampede from the Mammothmon, Minotarumon, and Devidramon. Davis panicked, "WAIT! VEEMON'S STILL IN THERE!"

Arukenimon scoffed, "It's an acceptable loss if we can end BlackWarGreymon."

In that moment, BlackWarGreymon and Veemon both disappeared beneath the stampede of angry digimon. Davis screamed out in anger, running towards the trampling but held back by both Kari and TK. Kari pointed out that he'd be killed if he ran in there now, but Davis didn't hear her - calling out to Veemon in a panic, while Angewomon aimed an arrow at Arukenimon, "Call them off!"

"You heard her! Call them off!" Stingmon added, his red blade raised from his arm. Arukenimon looked at them impassively, then started scoffed, "You want me to stop? When we can end this here and now? But sure, let's stop so that you can save one digimon."

"I knew we shouldn't have worked with you," Cody stammered angrily, but Arukenimon scoffed, "But you did anyway. But please, do be sanctimonious."

Cody frowned, frustrated with himself for not being more vocal in his opposition. She was right. He knew this was wrong but he went along with it anyway, angered that he'd allowed this to go so far. The rest of the group looked on in fear and anticipation - Veemon was in the middle of that trampling. BlackWarGreymon certainly had to be killed now, but then what chance did Veemon stand? Sure, he could reformat, but what were the odds he'd retain his memories too?

Then a soft growl slowly increased in volume until all off the spire digimon were thrown away, some turning to data upon landing while others lay injured. Those digimon struggled to get back up but fell back down tot he ground. Then BlackWarGreymon rose up, injured and his armor badly damaged but still standing. Arukenimon clicked her tongue angrily while Mummymon commented, "Oh bugger, that digimon really is harder to kill than a cockroach. And I've had plenty living in these bandages."

"And you wonder why I don't like you," Arukenimon rolled her eyes.

BlackWarGreymon was on his feet, turning to face Arukenimon. Meanwhile, laying underneath him was the unconscious Veemon. Davis was stunned into silence, and the digidestined were taken aback to see him lying there unconscious. Kari and TK were so surprised that their grips on Davis slipped and he ran to his partner's side right away, sliding to a stop beside him and cradling his unconscious partner, "Veemon! Veemon! Are you okay?"

When his partner didn't respond, he looked up at the Mega. Up close, Davis could see the scratches and bruises BlackWarGreymon had all over his body. He didn't understand, "Why...why'd you help him?"

"Because he is weak," BlackWarGreymon grumbled, breathing heavy and stomping towards her slowly, "That was pathetic."

"Wha-"

"Let me make one thing clear," BlackWarGreymon pointed at her, his tone just a little north of ripping her face off, "I don't go out looking to destroy weaker things. They come to me to die. They're weak. They're not worth the fight. Once they're down, I stop caring. You on the other hand, had no problem throwing away the lives of weaker beings just to get what you want."

"Why do you care?" Arukenimon stammered, "You're the one going on a rampage!"

BlackWarGreymon snorted and then used his clawed gauntlets to rip her hat apart, "You're so weak, that you can't even fight me yourself."

Before she could retort, he picked her up by her throat and squeezed, "Unless you're suggesting you can. Show me...show me just how strong you think you are."

She kicked and gagged, trying to break his grip and trying to turn her head towards the digidestined. It was like she was trying to call for help, but none of the digidestined or their digimon were sure they wanted to after he'd just protected Veemon. Then Mummymon's bandages came from behind in an attempt to strangle BlackWarGreymon before he could do the same to Arukenimon. The mega level digimon turned his head at Mummymon, amused at the threat Mummymon growled, "Release the lovely lady before I turn you to data."

"What could a _weak_ digimon like you do to me that she couldn't?" BlackWarGreymon asked, Mummymon flinching in surprise, "You're both too weak to be worth the effort of fighting."

Even though he was injured, holding Arukenimon with one arm while restrained by Mummymon, BlackWarGreymon started marching towards the Destiny Stone. With each step, Mummymon was left between choosing to be dragged along or surrendering more of his wraps to the mega. Then, still holding Arukenimon, he slammed her as hard as he could into the Destiny Stone. Mummymon gasped at the digidestined, "Aren't you going to do anything?"

They were still locked into passivity - they had to stop him. But he'd also just protected Veemon. Should they help? Should they do nothing. None of it felt like the right answer. He raised his other arm, readying his blade to crush her face. Cody couldn't believe what he was watching - they were all going to do nothing while BlackWarGreymon killed Arukenimon. This wasn't right. If they were the good guys, they should be trying to stop this. He shouted, "Wait! Don't! This isn't right!"

BlackWarGreymon slammed his claws straight into Arukenimon's head, and she went limp. Then she fell to the ground, her hand around her neck and gagging for air. She was alive. BlackWarGreymon's claw dug into the Destiny Stone, a hair's breath away from Arukenimon. The stone cracked, then crumbled to dust before the ground beneath them shook. Once again BlackWarGreymon howled in pain, sinking to the ground and cringing in front of Arukenimon who was still too shaken by her experience to do anything.

Mummymon would've shot at him but was too distracted by the sky ripping itself apart, giving way to a display of light erupting above them as more worlds appeared over head - the Real World, The Dark Ocean, the world of giants, large robots, and finally the serpentine figure in the middle of it. Upon seeing it, BlackWarGreymon leapt up to the sky, "YOU! YOU WON'T ESCAPE ME THIS TIME!"

He reached the serpentine figure in time to watch it vanish before him and he roared in anger, "NO! NO! NO! NO! COME BACK AND FACE ME! GRAH! YOU WON'T GET AWAY NEXT TIME!"

Then he disappeared into distance, taking off with such speed that it sounded like thunder. He was determined to find another destiny stone for another chance to fight his enemy. The digidestined looked at each other silently, unsure of what to do next while Arukenimon choked out, "What...what was that? You let him destroy the destiny stone."

"You tried to sacrifice Veemon!" Davis snapped back. Mummymon answered the retort by pointing his gun at the boy while Davis scoffed, "Really? Come on then. Shoot me!"

A stand off followed as the digidestined and spire digimon each took it in turn to point weapons at each other. MagnaAngemon readied his blade along side Mummymon's neck, then two Snimon surrounded the angel, prompting Ankylomon to ready his taile beside him, and on it went until everyone present had someone ready to attack them if they did anything. In the center of it all was Davis, still staring up angrily at Mummymon and daring him to shoot. The mummy clicked his tongue angrily and raised his gun, "Forget it. It's not worth it."

"We're leaving," Arukenimon grumbled, still massaging her neck, "If you children want to allow realty to be destroyed then fine. Mummymon!"

"Coming, m'dear," Mummymon nodded, following the red dressed woman as he whistled for the spire digimon to follow along. Cody breathed a sigh of relief at avoiding another costly battle, while the digimon all collapsed from exhaustion. Biyomon sighed, "I guess it wasn't enough."

"We just have to keep trying," Sora encouraged her partner while Davis asked, "How many more times are we going to have to fight that guy?"

"As many times as it takes," TK answered. Ken looked like he was about to apologize but Davis stopped him, "Thanks for coming back, dude."

"Don't thank me. Thank Yolei," Ken said softly, pocketing his hands. She put her hands on her hips and smiled, "Looks like you owe me one, Davis."

Davis didn't say anything, still cradling his unconscious partner in his arms.


	37. Digimon in Kyoto

Several weeks passed after their crushing defeat against BlackWarGreymon and the summer break came to a close before any one could think of a better way to fight the mega level digimon again. That didn't stop the digidestined from going to the Digital World to help with the restoration of ShogunGekomon's Village, but the search for Destiny Stones seemed to end there. They did anything they could to help from rebuilding destroyed buildings, helping to cook food for hungry digimon, among other things. But that wasn't enough to end the wave of rumors and suspicions about whether the digidestined were the heroes they needed or not. Making it worse was the Digimon Tamer's long absence - many were wondering if he'd abandoned the Digital World to its fate.

Every time this came up, Kari had to be held back from denying it by either TK, Gatomon, or Izzy. His secret was something they had to play close to the chest and couldn't afford to reveal quite yet. Until they knew how to bring back his memories, it was for the best if they left that part out.

Izzy wasn't making much head way when it came to cracking Tamer's digivice, which he kept on him at all times when they were in the Digital World and with Wizardmon at all other times. The last thing any of them wanted was either Mummymon or Arukenimon trying to steal it so it could be destroyed. Of course, he was exasperated by the lack of progress he was making since the only file he was able to open was the video Yolei had discovered entirely by accident. As a result, their summer break came to an end before any of them actually had the chance to properly enjoy it.

Davis was the most annoyed by the return to school, since he now had to pass by Taichi waiting outside his apartment every morning for Jun to come down. It wouldn't be so bad if the two didn't always arrive at school just as he managed to race there, Jun holding on to Taichi tight from the backseat of his bicycle. Then they'd walk into school together and she'd kiss him on the cheek before going to her own class. Seeing it was nauseatingly cute, although it was hard for him to admit that he wasn't jealous of his sister for getting someone.

And after the first week of it, Davis finally snapped, "Will they stop being so lovey-dovey?"

Yolei nudged Davis as she arrived at school and pointed it out, "You should be happy for them. They look cute together."

"Can we not talk about Jun's love life?" Davis stuck out his tongue in disgust, "It's...weird."

"You're just jealous because you wish Kari would treat you that way," Yolei added slyly. Davis answered with a kick that she playfully stepped out of the way of, "Relax, it was a joke."

"You should be happy for your sister," DemiVeemon poked his head out of the bag only to be quickly pushed back inside, "Shush!"

"Don't tell me you're planning on only bringing DemiVeemon, are you Davis?" Yolei asked nervously.

"Bringing DemiVeemon where?" Davis asked, just now noticing that she had an extra large backpack on her. Poromon popped his head out of the bag "But you're bringing me, Yolei."

"Yeah, but you behave and my bag is big enough to fit more than you," Yolei countered, pressing a finger to her beak. Davis rolled his eyes, "What are you talking about anyway?"

"Did you forget that we were going on a field trip to Kyoto today?" Yolei repeated, "You at least remembered to pack a lunch for the trip, right? Or clothes."

The blank expression on his face was all the answer she'd needed. He'd completely forgotten about it until just now, and was forced to face palm, "I'm so sorry for all the boys who have to share a room with you."

"Yo, Davis," Taichi approached him with a small duffel bag tucked under his arm. He held out the duffel, "Your sister asked me to bring this to you. She said you probably forgot to pack your stuff again and got you a bag ready."

Davis took the bag without a word, nodding quietly as he slung it over his shoulder. Taichi ran a hand through his large head of hair sheepishly and added, "Look, about the other night when I was your guys place…I don't know what your guys are like when I'm not around but…y'know, cut each other some slack. It's obvious that she worries about you."

"What's this about?" Davis asked with a raised eyebrow. Taichi shrugged, "Nothing. Just thought you two should lay off each other since you're...y'know...siblings. Anyway, have fun on your Kyoto trip."

He hurried off with one hand in his pocket and the other holding his bag over his shoulder. Davis frowned, "What was that?"

"We don't really know much about Taichi outside of being Tamer's disguise," Yolei reasoned, "I mean...Joe said he lives at home with his parents but that neither of them are never around because of work. Maybe he's lonely?"

"That's sad," Poromon poked his head out again, forcing Yolei to push him back inside, "Shush! Come on Poromon."

"I don't get it," Davis adjusted his duffel, just as the bell rang signaling the start of class. Davis groaned, "Come on. Really? Why am I always the late one!?"

* * *

Davis and Yolei were both told to stand out in the hallway for arriving to their classes late, but that didn't last long as the classes still had to line up outside for the Kyoto trip. Davis was lucky that TK and Kari chose to line up in the back so that he could be with them. Once they did a full head count of their class, they boarded the first of many coach buses that would be taking them straight to Kyoto. To add to his delight, he got to sit on the window seat by Kari. Unfortunately, TK sat opposite her on the aisle seat.

It was there that TK unzipped his bag so Patamon could poke his nose out to get a breath, before returning to being a doll. Gatomon didn't want to be stuffed in a bag though and instead chose to simply wander into the bus as soon they boarded. The rest of their class adored her and commented on how cute she was while the teacher tried to shoo her away. Gatomon answered with a hiss and ran straight to Kari, leaping onto the baggage rack above Kari and staying there. The teacher tried to pull her out and Gatomon swatted her hand away each time, before finally leaping onto Kari's lap.

"Kari, is this your cat?" the teacher asked. Kari waved her hands up defensively, "No, no. I've never seen her before."

Gatomon hissed at the teacher and leered at her, opening her mouth to bare her fangs like a stray cat. The teacher then asked, "Why isn't she hissing at you?"

"Because I'm too scared to try and push her off me," Kari said, keeping her hands up. Gatomon then hissed at Kari, before circling her lap and curling up. She didn't quite fall asleep though, instead keeping her eyes focused on the teacher. It was obvious she wanted to remove Gatomon - but doing anything might make her scratch Kari. Not wanting to deal with a potentially injured student, she sighed, "I'm sorry, will you be alright with the cat on your lap?"

"Yeah," Kari said nervously. To the delight of the other students, Gatomon allowed them to pet her head which made the teacher shake hers, "Okay. Let me know if anything happens."

She went back up to the front to finish counting the students one more time before they headed out. Kari whispered, "Did you have to make such a scene Gatomon?"

"Hey, they'll leave us alone, now," Gatomon whispered with a bigger smile than she probably should have. Kari slowly lowered her hands, trying to act scared of her own partner but knowing Gatomon wouldn't actually do anything to hurt her. As soon as the buses started rolling, Gatomon drifted off to sleep in her lap with the rest of their class awing at how cute she was when she wasn't hissing at everyone in sight. Some were certain they'd seen her before, wandering the school grounds and always waiting outside the school gate at a certain time. From there, they began to spin stories that maybe she belonged to a student who used to go to their school before dying years ago - and the cat loyally came to the school in search of her former owner.

The three digidestined were collectively amused by the stories as they spun, except for Gatomon who groaned that their stories were keeping her awake. Patamon whispered from within TK's bag, "Easy for you, you're not the one who has to stay in a cramped bag."

"Better than Davis' smelly soccer bag," Gatomon snuck a peak over at Davis. DemiVeemon spoke more loudly than he should have, "I am not in his soccer bag."

"Keep it down, guys," Davis moaned.

* * *

Ken arrived at his own school wearing same gray uniform he always did and noticed everyone huddled around the score boards just outside the front door. It seemed they'd finally posted the grades for the beginning of the year exams. He didn't even bother looking at his own, though - certain of where he was. Before, it would've been out of the assured knowledge that he was already at the top of every subject. Now, it was because of the certainty that he'd fallen far from there. As he walked past, he could hear some of his classmates already talking.

"I don't see Ichijouji."

"He's not at the top of math, or history, or literature."

"He's not at the top of any of the subjects."

"Yeah, look, even I got placed higher than him on chemistry and I hate chemistry."

"Wait, where is he?"

"You don't see? He's towards the bottom."

"Keep it down you guys! He's right there!"

"You think it's because of when he disappeared?"

"Maybe aliens messed with his brain."

"Something's definitely messed with your brain, moron."

Ken continued into school quietly, trying his best to ignore the whispers and comments of his peers. It wouldn't do him any good to dwell on it.

* * *

It took them three hours of non stop driving to arrive in the city of Kyoto, the former capital before its move to Tokyo. The skyline was dotted with the silhouette of old buildings such as the Buddhist temple To-Ji, the Nijo castle, and other historical landmarks. As soon as they got off the bus, Gatomon immediately ran off again - continuing to play the part of a stray that had wandered in. Their partners were eager to go out and explore the city for themselves, but were kept quiet until they were allowed to break off into their own groups. Then they were reminded that they had to meet back at the buses at 4 o'clock. Naturally, they grouped with Yolei and Cody before going off in their own direction to let their digimon free.

They met with Gatomon at a nearby shrine, where they finally let their digimon out. DemiVeemon stretched and jumped excitedly, "Hooray! We're out! The air smells better out here. This place looks like the park near your place, Davis. Are we still there?"

"No, we're miles away in another city called Kyoto," Davis explained, "Boring place with a lot of boring old buildings that no one really cares about."

" _You_ don't care about," Cody corrected, "This place is the old capital and it's historically significant."

"It kinda looks like ShogunGekomon's Village if it wasn't always being attacked," Upamon added excitedly. Cody went on to add that the city's history - that hundreds of years of war with everyone fighting to be the one who sat at the top until three men worked together to unite the land under them. It was a long storied history that Davis and the younger digimon tuned out of almost immediately. Cody hadn't noticed until Poromon yawned and pointed at the tiered tower in the distance, "Hey, what's that?"

Cody was miffed at being interrupted but kept his annoyance to himself, following his gaze to the familiar tower and explained, "That's To-ji - East Temple. It's a buddhist-"

"Not that, that," Upamon gestured with his large floppy ears at a figure perched on the second level of the building. At this distance, it looked just like any of the other statues perched atop the roof but it was moving. But its figure, its Azuchi period armor, made it fit in well with its surrounding. Then it leapt off the roof, into a crowd of tourists taking photos. The crowd was stunned, but the way it was dressed made them think it was just another attraction at the site, especially when it drew its sword. The crowd clapped excitedly as it screamed and wailed, and one of the tourists stepped up. The man said something about being tougher than this play actor.

Then it swung its sword, decapitating the tourist so that his head rolled along the ground. A panic broke out as everyone ran from the crazed swordsman, made all the worse when police came to the area with guns out. The swordsman panicked and started running their way, ignoring the police's shouts to stop running.

"Guys, he's coming this way," Davis stated the obvious. DemiVeemon asked, "Should we fight?"

"No, we don't want to make a scene," Yolei reasoned, trying to push them off to the side and out of the way of the swordsman. As it drew closer, TK pointed at it, "It might be too late for that. That's a digimon."

On second glance, as it ran past, they all recognized the armored man as Musyamon - the digimon who'd challenged Flamedramon to a duel not that long ago. He saw them and their digimon too, sliding to a halt beside them, "You! You're the digidestined aren't you?"

"Uh, yeah," Davis was the only one willing to talk. Musyamon threw himself onto the ground and prostrated himself, "Please help me. I don't what's going on or where I am, but please take me back to the Digital World."

"You just killed a guy!" Cody spat at him. Musyamon stood up, "He insulted my honor as a warrior! His wrong had to be repaid in blood! That is my code!"

Cody was about to protest, "It's still wrong. You can't just-"

"Stop right there! Drop your sword," one of the police shouted with his gun raised, the other approaching with a pair of handcuffs. Musyamon panicked upon seeing them, "We must flee! With me fair digidestined!"

"What?" was all Yolei managed to gasp out before Musyamon grabbed her hand and ran straight into the trees, Poromon following after them, "Yolei! Oh no! Come back!"

"That can't be good," TK murmured as they watched them disappear. Patamon looked up at him, "Shouldn't we help?"

TK hushed him as the officer with the raised gun pursued Musyamon into the forest, shouting at him to stop. The digimon quickly played the part of doll while the other officer stopped to check on them, "Are you kids okay?"

"Yeah," Kari nodded, quickly picking up Gatomon to help sell the doll act. The officer gave them each odd looks as he saw the digimon in their arms, obviously wanting to comment if they were a little old to be playing with dolls. Instead, he shook his head and instructed them, "I'm going to need you kids to come with me. We're evacuating this area and locking it down."

"But he took Yolei," Cody pointed into the forest. The officer nodded but ushered them to follow him, "I know. But it's not safe here at the moment with a nut case running around with a sword. Please, just come with me."

They followed the officer quietly back out of the area as he spoke into his radio, "This is Nishikawa reporting in, escorting some kids out of the area. Suspect disappeared into the woods. Fujima is in pursuit. Be advised, suspect has taken a hostage. I repeat, the suspect has taken one of the kids as a hostage. Grade school girl named Yolei."

"Copy that. Escort the kids out and resume search with Fujima," a voice spoke back on the radio. Then the other officer's voice came on over the radio, "This is Fujima. I lost the suspect at the northeast corner. I repeat, suspect lost at the northeast corner of the area."

The digidestined gasped when they heard that, worried that Yolei might be in more danger.

"The area's walled," another voice came over the radio.

"Guy just jumped over the wall," Fujima's voice answered, "Did it without a running start."

"Copy that. All units, be advised. Suspect has left the To-Ji area. This is a man hunt now."

"What do you think Musyamon is doing here in Kyoto?" Cody whispered to the others, nervous that the officer might hear. Davis answered with a shrug, "Who knows. Better question is how he got here. I thought you needed a digivice to cross the barrier between worlds. So how did he do it?"

"It has to be the Destiny Stones," Kari said quickly, "We always see those other worlds appear whenever one gets destroyed. Maybe those…tears aren't all closing. Digimon could be falling through those holes and landing in other worlds."

"But then how do we fix it? It's not like we can just put those broken destiny stones back," Davis retorted. Cody shook his head, "But we can stop it from getting worse. And we'll need to stop BlackWarGreymon to do that."

* * *

Ken just arrived home, skipping soccer practice for the day since he didn't feel the need to be anywhere near his classmates after the day he'd had. On top of that, he wanted to spend time with Wormmon. To his surprise, Wormmon was seated in front of his computer watching something that captured his attention. He set his bag down and joined his partner, "I thought I told you not to make too much noise when you were home alone."

"I had the speakers off," Wormmon reasoned, focusing on the screen intently, "I wish I could read Japanese. I could understand what the subtitles say."

"What?" Ken turned on the speakers of his computers, facing the screen to see a news broadcast. And on screen was an image of a what looked like Musyamon. The reporter repeated herself, "Once again, for those of you just joining us, a man dressed as a samurai is lose in Kyoto. The suspect killed a tourist now identified as Min Choshu - a Chinese citizen on vacation - before fleeing with an elementary student identified as Yolei Inoue. The man is reportedly armed with a katana and loose within a contained area of the city. Police have cordoned off the scene at To-Ji, and have sealed off the surrounding area as the search continues. Everyone is urged to stay in doors until the man is captured.

"Ken. Yolei is in trouble," Wormmon worried, "We should go help her."

"Y-yeah," Ken nodded, nervous that his infamous luck would play its part and harm Yolei but also too agitated to sit idle while she was in trouble. Not after everything she'd done to help him. He picked Wormmon up with one arm and tucked him into his backpack, hoping to sneak him outside without anyone seeing. At the roof of his apartment complex, Wormmon digivolved to Stingmon and the two raced to Yolei's aid in Kyoto.

* * *

Musyamon fled from To-Ji at break neck speed, stopping only to pick up Yolei in his arms before leaping upwards onto a nearby tree branch, then out onto the city. They stopped on one of the rooftops where they would be safe while the police searched along the ground. The whole time, Poromon raced behind them with his wings flapping as hard as he could and panting for breath, "Don't run away so fast! I could barely keep up!"

"What are you doing, Musyamon?" Yolei asked disbelievingly, "What good was kidnapping me going to do?"

"I erred in judgment and have brought shame to myself," Musyamon admitted sheepishly, "In my panic, I hastily brought you with me while abandoning the others."

"The others are fine. Or they should be," Yolei put her hands to her hips as if she were a parent getting ready to scold a child. This digimon kidnapped her in front of her friends and the police, then took her on a wild chase through out the city. Still, she relented and asked the one question on her mind, "But...what are you even doing here? How did you get into the Real World?"

At that, Musyamon relented and prostrated himself before her again. "I don't know. The last thing I remember before arriving here was training in the mountains to hone my skill. In the middle of my morning meditation, a bright light appeared in the sky and I could see all the things I did not know laid before me. Then...a black serpent appeared and vanished. As soon as it disappeared, I bathed in the most magnificent of lights that blinded me. When it passed, I was on the roof of that great temple."

"Okay, I think I followed that," Yolei massaged her forehead, only really following the part about ending up in the Real World, "Still. You can't just go around killing people."

"The peasant class should know their place!" Musyamon retorted, raising his head to face her, "He dared to mock me!"

"That was abolished in the Edo Period! This is the Heis...I mean the present. Nobody's been allowed to do that for like four hundred years!" Yolei explained, "And nobody's cared about that because...well, things got really bad."

"Forgive me. I don't know the laws of this world," Musyamon returned his head to the ground, before rising up again to ask her, "But I don't understand. What could happen in this world to cause such a thing to become law?"

"That's a long story," Yolei folded her arms, "And I'm not the best person to ask that question."

"Then we shall find someone who can answer that question for me," Musyamon nodded, taking up Yolei in his arms and carrying her like a bride, much to her displeasure, "Where can we go to find someone who can answer these questions?"

Through a blush, she managed to answer, "Well, there might be a professor who could answer at the local university but I don't see how-AH!"

Before she could even get out an answer, Musyamon took off again and Poromon sighed. With great fervor, he flapped his tiny wings as hard as he could to keep up, "Wait for me! Please wait for me!"

* * *

Davis paced anxiously in the boys' room at the inn - a series of rooms with collapsible walls that had been opened to create two large rooms. The girls were sent to one room and the boys to the other with the teachers watching outside to keep kids from going into each other's rooms. The field trip had ended abruptly so that the school could protect the remaining students who hadn't been abducted, taking them back to the inn where they were supposed to be staying. Their classmates settled into each of their groups while Cody and TK sat in a circle in a far corner of the room to avoid being overheard. TK messaged the rest of the digidestined to keep them in the loop while Davis fumed, "Man, I hate sitting around like this. We have to get out there and help Yolei!"

"Never thought I'd see the day," Cody commented before adding, "But it's not like we can sneak out with the teacher's at every door. The whole city's got to be on lock down after everything that's happened."

"We're not just going to leave Yolei with Musyamon, are we?" Upamon whispered. Cody shook his head, "Don't misunderstand. I want to help her too. But I don't think Musyamon is going to do anything to hurt her. It seemed like he took her to protect her. He probably expected all of us to go with him too."

"We may not have anything to worry about now," TK said with an amused smile and turning to show his D-Terminal to them, "Just got a message from Ken. He's on his way to help with Stingmon. He's not in our school so he doesn't have to worry about sneaking out."

"Yeah, but Stingmon's going to attract a lot of attention," Cody reasoned, "It's going to be hard to ignore the bug flying around."

"Ken'll pull through," Davis assured them while DemiVeemon added, "Yeah! He'll come up with something!"

Both Patamon and Upamon shushed him just as the other boys in their class turned to face them. Cody and TK did their best impression of their partners to make the boys look away, but that didn't stop one of them from loudly stating, "Bunch of weirdos. Who plays with dolls?"

"Hey, Kari likes them. Maybe that's why," another boy remarked. Davis was about to stomp his way and beat his face in but was held back by TK.

* * *

Haruhiko Takenouchi had always felt that Kyoto University's anthropology department was a bit too small - placed in an older warehouse like building to house the many artifacts recovered from field research and excavations. Its class attendance over the years had diminished as more and more students lost interest in the field to study other things. Still, he took great satisfaction in the knowledge that the few students he did have were always very enthusiastic and willing to learn from him - especially his star pupil Jim Kido who was helping him sort through documents recovered from their current study of the shrines around Kyoto. The artifacts were all fragile and needed to be given the greatest of care when handling to avoid damaging any crucial details that needed study.

Which was why the first thing he did when he heard the crash through the window was throw himself over the small clay idols he was working on to protect them. Then he heard arguing from what sounded like a little girl and an old man, "I told you not to jump through the window!"

"There were more police around and I had to act quickly before they saw us."

"Yeah, and they're probably wondering what flew through the window now."

"It was a nec…oh, forgive the intrusion."

Haruhiko looked up to see a familiar purple haired girl and what looked like a monster dressed like samurai in their midst. Broken glass littered the floor around them where they'd suddenly flown through the window. He nodded upon seeing them, more out of acknowledgment than as a polite greeting, "What's…going on? Why did you just…fly through my window?"

"Sorry about that. We were looking for the history department when the police showed up and we had to hide," the girl scratched her head, "I'm Yolei Inoue and this is…um…my-"

"Digimon?" Haruhiko asked stupidly, making the samurai prepare its sword, "He knows what I am. We must-"

"No more killing!" Yolei snapped at him, running between them with her arms spread out. Once the digimon put his sword away , she looked back at Haruhiko, "Wait, how do you know what a digimon is?"

"My daughter, Sora. She-" he stopped himself before he said anymore and shook his head, "Never mind."

"Wait, Sora? As in Sora Takenouchi?" Yolei asked aloud with a pointed finger, "She's one of the middle schoolers at my school! She's a digidestined like me! Wait, that makes you her dad!"

Then he remembered, "That's right. You were at that meeting we had a few months ago. What's going on? Why is there a digimon in Kyoto?"

"Uh, Professor?" Jim poked his head out from behind one of the shelves, "I don't mean to be rude, but I just heard the word digimon and digidestined in the same sentence. What's going on?"

"Oh Jim…um, this is Yolei," Haruhiko introduced the girl sheepishly, "A friend of my daughter."

"Oh, you know Sora, huh? Have you met my brother Joe, too?" Jim asked, minding his distance from the angry looking digimon. Yolei gasped, "Wait, you're Joe's brother? This is like some kind of reunion special. Wait, I didn't see you at that meeting we had."

"Yeah, I try to keep my distance from my parents," Jim admitted sheepishly, "They don't approve of the fact that I'm not interested in medicine but they at least respect the fact that it's my choice what I do with my life. So…you're a digidestined just like him, huh? Please tell me that's not your partner."

"No…it's Poromon," Yolei said, pointing out the window where a pink ball of feathers flapped in behind them, gasping for breath, "Stop…running…ahead…of…me…I…can't…keep…up!"

Yolei held out her arms so that the bird could land and apologized, "Sorry, Poromon. We didn't mean to leave you behind."

"Why exactly are you here?" Haruhiko interrupted, wanting to know why they crashed through the window, "Why were you looking for the history department?"

"It's a long story," Yolei said quickly, "Musyamon here got pulled into our world, there was a misunderstanding, he…cut someone's head off…then he ran from the police, I tried to explain to him why what he did was wrong, and…now he wants to know why samurai aren't allowed to defend their honor."

"Wait, he killed someone!?" Jim gasped, pointing at the digimon in a panic, "And you brought him here!?"

"To be fair, it's more like I got dragged along while he came here," Yolei answered sheepishly. Musyamon was less amused and retorted with a booming voice, "That man insulted my honor! He dared to call my sword a toy and mocked my skill with it. He should have known his place as a peasant! Or, that's what I thought until the maiden explained to me that those rules do not exist in your world."

"W…well, that's right. Not for a long time, anyway," Haruhiko nodded. The samurai digimon stalked his way and bowed, "You seem to know quite a bit on this subject."

"A little bit, yeah. I mean, I am a professor of anthropology - human studies. So I do have a small background in history," Haruhiko explained to the tall digimon. Musyamon nodded his understanding, "I see, then please tell me what would change the ways of your people so drastically."

Haruhiko looked to the side at Jim who knowingly kept his distance but was slowly reaching for a dusty old sword from amidst the artifacts. Haruhiko shook his head, trying to get Jim to stop whatever stupid idea he was about to act on. Once Jim placed the sword down, he mouthed at him to lock the door before returning his attention to Musyamon, "There's a lot of history to cover there but I'll run through it as best as I can. I suppose it all really starts with the Onin War. It was a succession war that broke out over who should succeed the shogun at the time: his younger brother who was the named heir or his eldest son who was born after the fact."

Haruhiko went through as much of the history and detailed it as well as he could remember, all the way from the collapse of Japan's feudal system at the end of the Onin War, the hundred years of fighting that followed in the Sengoku Jidai where feudal lords fought for scraps power, its reunification under Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu. Finally, he ended it on the Boshin War - the feud between the shogun and the emperor over the role of foreign influence in Japan at the time. All the while, Musyamon listened intently to the story - only occasionally interrupting to ask why certain choices were made at pivotal times over others. Once he finished, he paused to let it sink into Musyamon who grumbled, "To think that so much could change in only a few hundred years."

"That few hundred years is more than enough time for several generations of humans to be born," Haruhiko pointed out. Musyamon blinked in disbelief, "Really? But that must have only been five hundred years."

"Yeah, enough time for five or six human life spans to play out. Most people usually have kids in their twenties so there's probably been about thirty generations between then and now," Jim added, making Musyamon pause, "I see. You humans are short lived, making change more common place in this world than it would ever be in the Digital World."

"But you see why it had to be done, don't you?" Haruhiko asked to make sure everything he'd said had sunken into the digimon. The digimon paced briefly, mulling the answer over before concluding, "To restore peace and order during a time of incredible violence and conflict. Of course! Your lives are so short that of course you would place greater value in it. But then…if the conflict was so bad, why are there so many of you? If this is anything like the Digital World, then it must be that you all simply reformat like us."

"Erm," Haruhiko looked over at Yolei who seemed to sense where exactly this conversation was about to go and had turned a vibrant shade of red as a result. He did his best to spare her the more graphic parts of his explanations, "We don't do…whatever reformating is. We have children, we…raise them, teach them to be better than we were and entrust in them the hope of a better world."

"Hm…I see. So the change does come from your shorter life spans. But it is not instituted by the old but rather by the young," Musyamon mused, tapping his chin. Haruhiko chose his next words carefully to avoid an incident, "That is...basically true. Y'know it's funny. There's an old expression that goes change only comes along one of two ways: Either everyone who believes in the old way is convinced they're in the wrong which takes time or they die out which is also true but misunderstands the concepts I've crafted. Truth be told, in our world, sometimes the latter is faster than the former. DON'T take that to mean you should start killing."

Both Jim and Yolei had slapped their foreheads at his near mistake while Musyamon continued to muse, "And what does your shogun think of all this? ShogunGekomon wouldn't approve of such a system."

"ShogunGekomon?" Haruhiko repeated, Yolei explaining, "Oh, I never even thought of that. I guess his name makes sense. He's a digimon in the Digital World who's basically in charge of this village near the coast."

"Well, we don't have one of those anymore," Haruhiko explained, "It was deemed a long time ago that it was too dangerous to have that much power and control in one man. But that's political history and I'm not much of an expert in that."

"Hmm, your world has changed so much in such a short time," Musyamon frowned, "It seems my kind no longer has much use in a place such as this."

Haruhiko folded his hands in front of him, "Honestly, most of my knowledge is in theological beliefs of the different cultures - like the gates around Kyoto and the belief that they connected our world to the spiritual world."

"Oh? Please tell me about this," Musyamon's interest was peaked now and he moved closer with anticipation. Haruhiko was more than happy to share, "Well, there are four historical gates around Kyoto - one corresponding to each cardinal direction. Well each gate is said to have a guardian spirit that protects the city from that corresponding direction - the vermillion phoenix to the south, the azure dragon to the east, the black turtle to the north, and the white tiger to the west."

"I see, much like the Sovereigns of the Digital World. Four digimon of incredible power who guide and protect us from afar," Musyamon said excitedly, "Perhaps our worlds aren't so different."

"Yes, but keep in mind that these beings don't actually exist in our world," Haruhiko added, "Many of this beliefs and superstitions were used to answer questions that our ancestors weren't able to. But in the modern age, with scientific advancement, many of these questions have been answered so now the only beliefs that still hold are related to more ethical questions over natural ones."

Musyamon's expression remained unreadable, "You've given me much to think about and driven my interest in learning more. But before I can think to do that, I must first compensate that man's family for my mistake, but I have nothing to offer."

"I think it's in everyone's best interest if you don't do that," Jim said quickly, "For now, you should think about going back to your world."

A knock on the door stunned them all into silence and a voice spoke from the other side, "This is the police. Open up!"

"Oh crap," Yolei panicked, "What do we do? We need to get him out of here."

"I don't think that'll be happening, there's a lot of police outside," Poromon peered out the window to see a makeshift barricade put up as a team of police officers with shields formed around the door into the building. Haruhiko cursed, "Well, so much for that. I have an idea, Musyamon but you'll need to stand perfectly still."

"What, why?" Musyamon demanded. Haruhiko gestured around, "You're in a room full of old artifacts and you're dressed like a samurai. You'll blend in easy. Now stand still and don't say a thing."

He nodded at Jim who slid the door open for the two police officers. The lead officer asked, "We're looking for a suspect - man dressed in old samurai armor who's kidnapped a girl. Our officers report he ran in through your window."

"Yes, that did happen," Haruhiko spoke quickly, gesturing towards the Yolei, "He left the girl here and ran out of the room."

The other officer left to look elsewhere while the lead began searching the room, "Right, you won't mind if I have a look around."

"By all means," Jim said, stepping out of their way, "But mind the artifacts, they're all very old and fragile. There's a lot of information to be gained from the items in this one room."

"I promise that I'll act with care," the officer assured him, inspecting the rows upon rows of artifacts that were categorized and labeled. He took particular interest in the old weapons and armor before finally stopping at Musyamon who was doing his best to be perfectly still, "What's this ugly thing?"

"A papier-mâché art project my daughter made," Haruhiko explained quickly, taking up a rag to wipe Musyamon down, "She gave it to me to use after it was done, and then propped some old samurai armor on it. So now it just sits in the corner…leering."

"It's...ugly, isn't it?" the officer raised an eyebrow, his attitude changing as Haruhiko scolded him, "My daughter was six when she made that."

"Oh…well, she certainly has a lot of talent," the officer cowed, cleared his throat and adjusted his cap, "For your safety, I'll need to evacuate all of you out of the building while we continue to search for the suspect. Are you alright, miss?"

He turned his attention to Yolei now, who answered with a soft nod and the officer gestured to the door, "Everything's okay, we'll take you back to your parents and everything will be alright."

"We'll come along once we finish up our work," Haruhiko reasoned with the officer, "Anthropology is a very serious field and I need time to properly preserve the artifacts before we leave. That broken window risks exposing everything in this room to damag-"

"No can do. You need to leave, right now," the officer said, his tone shifting to anger, "There's a madman with a sword running around this building and the last thing any one wants is to be trapped in here when he shows up."

"We will, just give us a moment to complete our work," Haruhiko insisted, trying to get them to leave as soon as he could. When the officer refused, Musyamon lost his patience and drew his sword. He swung it at the officer, separating his arm from his body and roaring in anger, "Enough!"

The officer yelled out in pain, holding the nub that had been his arm moments before.

"What the hell?" Yolei said in a panic as Musyamon sheathed his sword, "It's okay, he'll live."

"But why?" Yolei demanded as the officer sank to his knees. When the other officer came running with his gun drawn, Musyamon grabbed Yolei again with his arms, "With me, maiden!"

"This is the literal definition of making things worse," Yolei shouted, as she was lifted up again and carried out another window. Glass broke and gasps of panic followed as Musyamon landed on the street below where he faced the armed police on his own. Upon seeing them, Musyamon growled out, "Fear not! I'll protect you!"

"Attention suspect," one of the officers ordered, "Put down your sword, release the hostage, and surrender."

Musyamon lowered Yolei to the ground and frowned, "Hm. It seems there's nowhere left for me to run, is there?"

"You killed a guy and cut another guy's arm off," Poromon spat out, "That isn't doing anyone any favors."

"May-haps you're right," Musyamon said, adjusting the sword in his hand nervously and eyeing the officers expectantly. He seemed just about ready to surrender when a bright flash of light from somewhere above blinded everyone. Yolei used her arms to shield her eyes from the blinding light, making sure to protect Poromon too. Then she felt something grab her, once again to carry her away to safety. She spat out, "Stop grabbing me and running away Musyamon! This isn't helping anything."

"I'm not Musyamon," Stingmon's voice said. She opened her eyes to see Stingmon holding her, carrying her away to a nearby rooftop where Ken was waiting for them. Upon seeing her, he asked, "Yolei! Are you okay?"

"Ken? What are you doing here?" she gasped in surprise. Ken began messaging on a D-Terminal before gesturing down at Musyamon below and explained, "I saw what happened on the news and came to help. I just let the others know that you're safe."

"You have to help Musyamon!" Yolei panicked, looking back to see Musyamon on his own now. Ken shook his head, "And do what? Keep running from the police until we get him back to the Digital World? And what about the man he killed!?"

"He realized what he was doing was wrong!" Yolei pointed out, "We have to go back and get him before the police kill him!"

She tried to run back but Ken grabbed a hold of her sleeve. On any other day, this would've made her blush uncontrollably but all it did today was infuriate her, "Yolei! There's nothing that can be done. Everything was over for him the moment he killed a man out in the open."

"Ken, don't say that!" Yolei gasped, trying to break free of his hold. Eventually she looked back down onto the street below, were Musyamon kept his hand on his sword. Musyamon stepped backwards from the police who were slowly moving into arrest him. He looked between them all and frowned, muttering something to himself as he kept his sword at the ready. Then he leapt at them, sword raised above his head and ready to strike.

As soon as he did this, the police fired - a symphony of gun shots that only stopped when Musyamon collapsed to the ground. Yolei shook her head, in disbelief. They could have saved him. They could have found a computer and sent him back to the Digital World. This…was not the way it was supposed to end. She turned on Ken, "We could have helped him."

"If Stingmon and I hadn't gotten here a little sooner, yes, I agree," Ken nodded sheepishly. Yolei shook her head, "You still could have done something!"

"He kidnapped you after he killed a man!" Ken retorted, "Did you think the police were going to let that go? Or that the man's family wouldn't try to get justice?"

"But-"

"And think about it, Yolei. He's a digimon," Ken added, "Do you honestly think they'd just put him in jail and it'd all be kumbaya? I...look...the best case scenario was that he got to live in a cell for the rest of his long life while the government did all kinds of experiments on him. If they kept him alive. This…this was kinder."

"We could have done something!" Yolei reasoned but Ken shook his head, "And what? Let the man's family not get closure? You honestly think that they won't be upset that somebody they knew went on vacation only to get his head cut off?"

She paused, realizing he was right and so mad that he wasn't listening. Her fists tightened and she had to look away from him. After a moment, she heard him offer, "Yolei, I-"

"Stop Ken," Yolei gasped, pulling herself away finally, "Just...stop."

"It was a mess," Ken offered sheepishly, "The whole thing was a mess. I'm sorry you had to deal with that. But this wasn't going to get a happy ending after what Musyamon did."

Yolei looked back down at the still body of Musyamon as it began dissipating into data and murmured, "He's dead...He's dead."

"Yeah, he is," Stingmon stated quietly, looking at the girl sadly while Ken tried to think of what to say next. After a moment's silence, Yolei wiped her eyes and looked up at Ken, "What happens now?"

"You're asking me? Anything I do only makes things worse," Ken frowned quietly, "I only came to help you. I was thinking you could come up with what's next."

For a moment, it struck Yolei that he might actually be right. He came to help and it led to Musyamon's death. No. That wasn't right. She tried to convince herself that was wrong, but the thought was there now. She looked at Ken, still unsure of this could have been remedied. It couldn't. But they could make sure it didn't happen again, "Okay. We head back to the Digital World and stop BlackWarGreymon once and for all."

* * *

 


	38. The Azure Dragon

A week passed after the Kyoto trip, and a few more digimon slipped into the Real World. Thankfully, these digimon were much smaller and less violent than Musyamon. in fact, they were more scared than anything, which made it easier to transport them back to the Digital World.

TK sat in literature class, drumming his fingers against his desk to distract himself. The incident in Kyoto reminded them that they had to stop BlackWarGreymon but didn't know how to do it. Brute force had only managed to annoy the mega, so that option was out. Their strategies weren't fairing any better either since he was more than strong enough to compensate for it. What else was there?

As their teacher droned on about the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, he rolled his eyes and tried his best to pay attention. Then he heard his teacher say something about an unstoppable enemy and looked up, "Lu Bu was a minor war lord but a dangerous one. If you've done you're readings, you'll have seen that he was ultimately defeated through the combined forces but I just want to share a fun fact that the novel leaves out. He wasn't defeated with friendship. Historically, he was defeated when two of his officers tied him while he was sleeping - throwing his weapon down to the Cao forces and requesting their safe surrender in exchange for him."

TK looked up at that and asked, "Couldn't he just break free?"

"He would, if they hadn't made him drunk," his teacher answered, "They gave him so much alcohol, he had no idea what was going on until after the fact. And that kids is why you shouldn't drink."

TK mulled over that 'sort of' lesson, looking over at Kari and Davis who both had raised eyebrows at him. Then a devilish smile drew itself on his face as he came up with an idea that might help them get the drop on BlackWarGreymon.

That afternoon TK messaged everyone to come meet him at the computer club after school. Izzy was the first to arrive, eager to see if TK has suddenly developed an interest in computers. Davis and Sora were the next to arrive as they finished their practice for the day, followed by Yolei and Cody. Matt arrived next as he finished his practice with his bad. Ken and Joe were the last to arrive as they both had to come from other schools - and Ken's appearance cause a bit of a stir. Davis was quietly jealous of the attention the boy got, still jealous of his fame. It took him the longest to get through the crowd of people, eventually helped out by Joe dragging him along. It was then that Davis impatiently asked, "What's going on dude? Why did you want us all to meet up here?"

"Well, I came up with an idea on how to beat BlackWarGreymon," TK said excitedly, "Or I got inspired by an idea."

"What did you come up with?" Izzy asked, disappointed to see the club wouldn't get a new member. TK folded his arms, "We get BlackWarGreymon drunk!"

He was met with dead pan silence until Gatomon sighed, "Okay, what?"

"Well, I was thinking that we lure BlackWarGreymon somewhere, get him so drunk that he passes out, and then beat him," TK reasoned excitedly, "It'd work in theory."

Davis raised an eyebrow, immediately recognizing how familiar this plan was, "You want to do that thing from lit class?"

"Hey, if it worked there, it'd work here too," TK reasoned, "We just need enough alcohol to get him drunk."

"Okay, how much alcohol does a mega need to get drunk?" Joe asked, "I mean, the legal BAC is 0.03 so...that's...hmm, about 3 beers. But...that might not be true for BlackWarGreymon. He's massive and who knows how quickly digimon metabolize that stuff."

"Why do you know that?" Cody asked him suspiciously, to which he quickly answered, "Studying to be a doctor. I have to know this stuff."

"I'm okay with this idea," Yolei nodded quietly, "It's different from what we've been doing. But how are we going to get BlackWarGreymon to drink anything? All he seems to care about is finding the remaining destiny stones and blowing them up!"

"That's where my idea hits a stumbling block. We'd need a digimon willing to get close enough to BlackWarGreymon to actually try to give him something to drink, and then they have to give him enough that he passes out," TK admitted quietly, looking over at the digimon who were present - Patamon, Gatomon, DemiVeemon, Poromon, and Upamon. Anyone of them would likely be blown apart if they tried to get too close to BlackWarGreymon. So who could? Yolei snapped her finger right away, "We still have Digitamamon in the basement of ShogunGekomon's palace. He knows how to run a restaurant and I'm willing to bet he'll do anything to get out of there!"

"I don't know how I feel about using a digimon that way. Even if he is a bad egg," Cody admitted sheepishly. Kari reasoned, "Who else will though? It's not like any one else is going to."

"Okay, so how do we get him to work with us. How are we going to be sure that he doesn't just sell us out to BlackWarGreymon?" Davis asked the rest of them, "I mean, I like the idea but we took the guy's restaurant and arrested him. I don't think he's going to do us any favors."

"I have an idea for that," Izzy said, turning to Ken, "Digitamamon is profit minded and he was always willing to do whatever he wanted if it made him money. Everything he does is to make money right? So imagine, how much business he'd get if he could market himself as the one who help stopped BlackWarGreymon."

"It's a good idea in theory," Ken put a hand to his chin, "Whether or not he actually does help us is another thing. Remember, he doesn't have any allegiance but to profit."

Of course, all their hopes were dashed when Matt asked, "I hate to be a bummer but will ShogunGekomon be okay with it?"

"The Digital World and the our world and every world are in trouble!" Davis raised his voice, "He'd better be okay with it!"

"We won't know until we ask," Ken answered.

ShogunGekomon was far from okay with it. The only reason he gave their appeal any attention was because Sora reminded him of everything they'd done to help save the Digital World - stopping Etemon, the Dark Masters, Apocalymon, the former Emperor, and the false SkullGreymon. At that point, he relented and allowed them to go down and speak with Digitamamon but warned that they'd be followed by his guards until then.

Ken had no idea how he had been roped into this idea but went along with it. He and Izzy marched down the darkened corridors of ShogunGekomon's dungeon with their escort of Agumon. He was certain that they were eager to throw him into one of the cells and throw away the key, but Izzy being around probably deterred them from doing just that. Still, he didn't like the looks some of the prisoners were giving him either - especially when he marched by the cage of Ninjamon who came screaming to bars, demanding to be freed and pleading with Ken to save him. It was a grisly reminder of the thing Ken was trying so hard to make right, and all he could do was look away in shame of the things he'd done.

Then they passed Starmon's cell, where he had been bound and gagged to keep him from summoning more meteors. However, he seemed to chuckle upon seeing them walk past - as if he was mocking them for turning to the Emperor. Ken had seen Starmon turn on the digidestined for disrupting the peace of the village. He couldn't help but see the irony in it - Starmon had been locked away for trying to maintain the peace of the village, and the digidestined had escaped that fate even though they were now working with a former enemy. He supposed it couldn't be helped and sighed. This wasn't how it was supposed to be going.

Finally, they came to Digitamamon's cell at the far end of the dark hall and the guards banged their spears on the metal bars, "Wake up Digitamamon! You have guests."

There was a soft groan from inside and Digitamamon stepped out from the shadows of the cell to meet them with an amused smile, "Oh hoh? You finally came to visit. I was wondering when you digidestined would come to take your turn to torture me."

"Torture?" Izzy repeated, turning to the guards incredulously, finding them impassive to the accusation. He shook his head, "No, we're here to make you a deal."

"Oh, a deal?" Digitamamon seemed to giggle, "And what exactly can you give me that I want?"

"Freedom," Izzy said, to which Digitamamon rebuked, "That's just a fancy way to say hang me from a rope."

"I'm starting to wonder if I'm the bad guy here. Then how about freedom with a sizable profit?" Ken asked, earning Digitamamon's attention. He didn't respond, instead leering at them so Ken took that to mean he could continue, "There's a digimon out there that we need help to beat. He's strong enough that all of our digimon combined threw everything they had at him and he just shrugged it off. So now we're trying something different. Our plan is to get him drunk enough that he'll be easier to stop. There's just one problem - we need someone he doesn't recognize to feed him the alcohol."

Digitamamon chuckled, but didn't say a word. Ken finished, "We made a deal with ShogunGekomon. He'll grant you a full pardon in exchange for helping us. Then you can restart your restaurant business wherever you'd like and you can add the name - hero who helped the digidestined to your title."

"Saying I helped you guys doesn't carry weight it used you to," Digitamamon pointed out with a stifled laughed, "Besides, how did you get him to agree to this?"

Ken sighed, annoyed by the leery look that the egg digimon gave him and explained, "By reminding him of all the times you helped Tamer, even though you were just playing every side in the end."

Digitamamon laughed - cackling so hard that the guards readied their spears to jab at him to stop him if he didn't quit being so creepy. Eventually, the egg added through fits of laughter, "You said that like Tamer didn't know. Do you honestly think he didn't? Because he did. He knew the whole time. It's not my fault that it took the rest of you so long to figure that out."

"Do we have a deal or don't we?" Izzy asked impatiently. Digitamamon's laughter ceased and he cleared his throat, "Okay, let's assume I take this deal and I get my freedom. Where's the profit part come in?"

"I told you, you can add the 'helped the digidestined' tagline to the name of your restaurant or whatever," Ken pocketed his hands, "Or, if you'd prefer, you can leave that tagline out and do your business however you'd like. But this is a one time offer."

That part was a bluff and Digitamamon seemed to know that. They needed his help. The egg smugly closed his eyes and did something like a chortle. When he opened his eyes, he only had one thing to ask, "So…when do we get started?"

The digidestined split off into two teams after that. Matt, Davis, Magnamon, and MetalGarurumon went out in search of another Destiny Stone while the rest of the digidestined went out to set up the trap. The first order of business was to get Digitamamon a place to serve as a fake bar. The one he had in the middle of the village wouldn't do, there was no way they could afford a battle in the heart of that place. So they'd have to find another one and Digitamamon knew just the place. He took the digidestined to a small diner at the foot of a lonely mountain - a dusty old building that seemed to have been abandoned for sometime. It was a familiar scene to the older digidestined from years ago, but a new sight to the younger members of the team. Time had not been kind to this place as parts of the ceiling were leaking and the building looked ready to fall over at any moment. This was not an acceptable shape for it to be in if this was where they were going to launch their attempt to drug BlackWarGreymon so work began to get it back into something resembling a bar that digimon frequented.

The digidestined and the guards who'd willingly agreed to accompany this mission did their best to clean and repair the debilitated building. This wasn't the work of an afternoon - and would take several days at least to get looking respectable again. Cody and Armadillomon went to work inside, cleaning the bar and the shelves behind it with a Cody ran his finger along the counter and commented, "This place is filthy. Why would any one come here?"

"This filthy place is where we'll set this trap," Digitamamon grumbled, "Unless you know a better place to set the trap. Now be quiet and get back to cleaning you ungrateful little-"

"Hey! The least ya' could do is be a lil' polite after we got you outta jail!" Armadillomon snapped, to which Digitamamon added, "Really? If you guys were able to do anything about this BlackWarGreymon, you would've done it by now instead of running to me for help. The way I see it, this whole plan is going to blow up in your faces. I just want to make sure that when that happens, I don't have to be anywhere near it."

"Have some faith in us," TK told the unsympathetic egg digimon, "If we were as incompetent as you think we are, then we'd already be dead and you'd still be in a cell."

"Fair enough, you're competent enough to not get yourself killed," Digitamamon answered, snidely muttering, "Or so incompetent that you can't die properly."

"I'm going to deck that guy in the face," Gatomon growled, stopped from a rampage only when Kari grabbed a hold of her partner, "Gatomon, we need him. He's helping us!"

"He doesn't have to be such a jerk about it," Gatomon grimaced, going back to helping repaint the exterior. It took them several days of work to get it looking presentable again, although it probably would've taken less time if they weren't limited to working on it after school. Then it took another two weeks of work, to refurnish the restaurant with chairs, tables, and decorations to make it look as good as new. The digidestined were more than happy to admire their work, the older members even commenting on the fact that it liked the way they remembered seeing it all those years ago.

As if the timing couldn't be more perfect, they received a message from Matt that they'd found another Destiny Stone and were using ropes tied to it to move it as close as possible to the bar to draw BlackWarGreymon's attention. In their excitement, Kari, TK, and Yolei hurried off Nefertimon, Pegasusmon, and Halsemon to help them bring it back as quickly as possible. When they met them, Magnamon and MetalGarurumon both struggled to hold the rock between them as they moved it towards the old diner. Davis waved upon seeing them excitedly, "Hey guys! Check it out! We got the Destiny Stone!"

This stone was oddly crystalline in its structure, resembling a large diamond stud instead of the typical rock they were used to finding. But, it still had the same golden ring wrapped around the center with the same cryptic symbols etched into the surface. The rope had been tied taught around the base and the top to help keep it level between the two digimon, with three extra pieces left free for Pegasusmon, Nefertimon, and Halsemon to latch onto. Their partners helped secure the ropes, TK asking, "Where did you find it?"

"Bottom of a lake," Matt answered dryly, "The same lake where Tamer and Agumon's house is."

"Yeah, you never explained that," Davis said aloud, "How did you know that was their house?"

Matt answered, "We went there once before when we were looking for our crests - these crystals that let our digimon digivolve to the Ultimate level."

"Until it turned out we didn't even need them at all," TK added, "They were destroyed by this digimon called Apocalymon - but it didn't stop our digimon from digivolving. Because it turns out they were just like our digivices: they weren't what really helped our digimon digivolve. It was always us."

"It figures though that something he'd be looking for would be right next to his house," MetalGarurumon commented, Nefertimon snidely adding, "If he was even looking."

"So are we not worried that BlackWarGreymon is going to come screaming at us some time soon?" Yolei asked nervously, "I mean...he always comes to attack it the moment we find one."

"No one's touched it," Magnamon said, "So there's no reason to think that he knows we're moving it. Can we hurry? It weighs a ton and my back is killing me."

"Yeah! Let's go!" Yolei pointed ahead excitedly.

As soon as they returned to the diner, they found a large hole that Digmon and MegaKabuterimon were digging just behind it. Beside them was another hole that the Agumon and Otamamon were filling with sticks and fire. Davis pointed out this hole and asked, "What's are you guys doing? We're not landscaping for this guy, are we?"

"Something like that," Izzy answered, "We need a place to hide the Destiny Stone that won't be obvious. So we're making a make shift hot spring to conceal it - then we just conceal the stone and high tail it out of here while Digitamamon takes care of BlackWarGreymon. Once BlackWarGreymon's passed out, Digitamamon's calls us in and we take care of him once and for all."

"Which I'm still not okay with," Digitamamon grumbled under his breath, ordering the Gekomon and Otamamon on where they could put the hundreds of crates of alcohol, "This plan is never going to work. He's a mega level spire digimon! There's no telling how much alcohol he'll need to pass out. If they even can get drunk enough."

"Just stick to the plan and everything will be fine," Sora assured him with a pat on his shell. The egg snapped at her and Matt pointed a finger, "Watch it buddy. We can throw you back into that cell if you're not careful."

"And do what? Run this plan without me? Good luck finding another digimon who knows how to run a bar and upsell," Digitamamon rolled his eyes, "Just stay out of my way while I work."

Digmon and MegaKabuterimon finished their work, hopping out of the neatly made hole so that Zudomon and Garudamon could empty a large tub of water into it. Then they moved the Destiny Stone into the hot spring to keep it submerged. The heat from the fire transferred through the hole, into the water and slowly brought it up to a warm temperature. After that, it was just a matter of finishing the set up of the restaurant - something that Digitamamon refused to let the digidestined help with as he wanted complete control over the set up of his restaurant. Davis was ready to fight the egg digimon over this fact but Kari calmed him down by encouraging him to trust him. As a result, they decided to go home for the night and get some rest so that they could execute this plan in the morning on a weekend, when they were all rested. Even so, there was an air of anxiety in the group because they all knew that they'd seen the last of BlackWarGreymon's mercy. He wasn't going to be as kind with them during the next mission - it was now or never.

That Saturday, they quietly snuck back into the school and went back to the Digital World to finally put their plan into action. They arrived to a scene where the guards from ShogunGekomon's army were nervously waiting outside beside a park buggy, murmuring amongst themselves about what to do. Davis approached them and asked, "What's going on dudes? Why are you all waiting outside?"

"A bunch of digimon showed up and went inside to eat," one of the Agumon said nervously. Izzy blinked, "This place has only been up for a day. Who knew we were doing this?"

Davis had already stormed inside to shoo away whoever had messed with their plans, only to find a small mob of digimon filling every booth and table there. And at the furthest corner booth were Mummymon and Arukenimon happily helping themselves to bowls of ramen. Davis stammered upon seeing them, surprised by their sudden appearance, "What are you guys doing here?"

"We stopped for a bite to eat while we were chasing BlackWarGreymon," Mummymon answered before Arukenimon could elbow him in the ribs. Mummymon yelped and spat out a mouthful of half eaten noodles that robbed Arukenimon of her remaining appetite. Davis tried his best not to gag, especially when the mummy just put it back in his mouth. Veemon had appeared at his side just then and gasp, "It'sh you guysh! What are you doing here!?"

"Chasing BlackWarGreymon," Davis answered, while Arukenimon sighed, "If you kids are looking for a place to eat, I wouldn't worry about it. We'll be gone soon enough and you can have whatever you want. Until then, why don't you wait outside and leave us alone?"

Mummymon blushed and stated, "Why Arukenimon, I had no idea you wanted such a romantic meal with-"

She chopped his neck before he could finish his sentence, making him gag up another mouthful of food, "Keep your mouth shut Mummymon, before I sew it shut for you."

She stood up from the booth and made her way to the entrance after that, slowly making her way to get some extra food. She only stopped once to look back at the rest of the digimon, "Everyone! Finish your food and be ready to move! We're heading out soon!"

There was a large cheer from the digimon as they continued to guzzle their food, contenting Arukenimon as she went back outside. Veemon and Davis followed her back outside, where the other digidestined had gathered to resist her before she did anything else they didn't like but she was already musing at what could bring them all together, "Look at that, Ken Ichijouji and the old guard come together with the brats. What's brought you all here?"

"We came looking for food. Why are you here?" TK said quickly, to which she amused, "Same. I don't know what you children are really up to but I'd be careful if I were you. If my entourage weren't busy gorging themselves, I'd have them trying to eat you."

"You mean the spire digimon," Patamon corrected which amused her, "I wouldn't sound so smug if I were you. After all, BlackWarGreymon is still out there and…oh, I see. Hm…well, I hope whatever you kids have planned works. For your sake, that is. I've already lost a sizable force to that mindless killing machine and it seems we're slowly reaching the upper limit of digimon I can throw at him."

"He's not as mindless as you might think," Kari said bitterly, annoying the woman, "Whatever."

"Arukenimon! I'm done! Are we ready to go now?" Mummymon asked as he came running out of the restaurant. Several of the spire digimon were just behind him - Gekomon that twitched unnaturally with each step, Thundermon that jittered in the air, angry Minotarumon that were hunched over, Snimon who'd been forced to eat outside, and others all squeezing their way out of the tiny diner. Once they were out, Arukenimon climbed into the buggy and pointed ahead, "Listen up! We're moving full speed after BlackWarGreymon! All of you be ready to fight once you find him!"

Her army let out a triumphant roar as Mummymon started the buggy and sped off, the digimon following after them at a full sprint. Davis turned his head to the side, "Well, that happened."

"I thought they were never going to leave," Digitamamon complained, "They stormed into my restaurant, took over every table, ate most of my food, and then refused to tip! I was right to undercook all their food and give them stale stuff!"

"Good to see your priorities are in the right place," TK noted, falling quiet when Digitamamon shot him a dirty look. Trying to change the subject before an argument broke out, Veemon quickled asked, "Shouldn't we have told them the plan? We could have ushed the help."

Cody countered, "I don't think so. We still don't know if we can trust her after all."

"She's a wily one, that's fer' sure," Armadillomon agreed with his partner, "How's about we digivolve already and get this ol' ball rollin'?"

"Not yet," TK told them, "BlackWarGreymon can sense strength. If you digivolve now, he'll know something's wrong before he even gets here."

"He's right. Everyone scatter around so we're harder to detect," Sora said to the others, pointing out different places for them to hide in the forest. Once everyone was hidden, Gomamon dove into the water. A moment's silence followed before he leapt out of the water and waddled his way into the bushes with Joe. Gomamon shook the water off and whispered, "Touching that thing gave me a headache. I saw things I never knew I didn't want to see."

"Like what?" Palmon asked. Gomamon shivered as he recalled, "Ogremon in the shower."

Everyone in ear shot shuddered as horrible images of a naked Ogremon came to mind. Joe patted his partner on the head, "Thank you for that image. Thankfully, now we've got BlackWarGreymon's attention. Good job, buddy."

"And here he comes now," Hawkmon frowned as a loud boom and a long continuous scream echoed from the distance. The scream drew louder and became deafening as BlackWarGreymon finally appeared above them, roaring at the top of its lungs as he slammed into the ground with enough force to shake even the mountain in the distance. He glowered for a second, breathing heavy and scanning his surroundings for the Destiny Stone, "Where is it? I felt it! It's here! WHERE!?"

"Why are you making so much noise, friend?" Digitamamon greeted the digimon cheerily, stepping out of the diner with his apron neatly arranged and demonstrating a level of pleasantness they hadn't seen since the Digimon Tamer. BlackWarGreymon growled upon seeing him, "You! Stay out of my way or I'll destroy you like all the others."

"You sound stressed. Might I offer you some sake to help calm your nerves?" Digitamamon asked, producing a tray with a poured cup of sake and two bottles left in a dish of warm water. Where he'd stored the tray was a mystery since he didn't have arms to hold it behind his back and it didn't come out of the hole on his shell. At least, they hoped there wasn't another hole in the shell they weren't able to see. He extended it gently with a smile, "Help yourself friend. You'll find it delicious and relaxing. Take it, on the house."

"Who are you and what's your game?" BlackWarGreymon asked angrily. Digitamamon shook his head, "No game. I just saw a digimon in need and offered my help. Have a drink before you-"

"I'm not interest in your brand of help!" BlackWarGreymon roared, "I want to find the Destiny Stone!"

"I think you should take a moment to rest," Digitamamon continued, "That stone you're talking about will still be here after a few drinks. Why not calm your nerves? Digimon think more clearly when their mind isn't foggy with thought and emotion."

The digidestined tensed up with anticipation as BlackWarGreymon seemed to consider this offer. After a moment's silence, Cody whispered, "I don't think he's going for it."

"Just give him a minute," Tentomon whispered back. BlackWarGreymon slowly made his way to Digitamamon, and the egg digimon nervously stood his ground as he expected to be ripped apart. Then the mega took a swig of the cup and growled, "More."

"Of course," Digitamamon made a display of pouring another cup with his foot, balancing on the other one while still managing to hold the tray on his head. BlackWarGreymon downed that one just as quickly and looked to Digitamamon for more. The egg digimon offered the mega the bottle and remarked, "I'll just let you have these while I go warm up some more."

He set the tray down on the grass and BlackWarGreymon folded his legs to sit next to it, quietly sipping the bottle of sake while Digitamamon fetched some more in his restaurant. They waited, watching him sit there and drink while wondering how long it would take for him to pass out. Then, he stood up and growled, "What am I doing? I shouldn't be drinking. I should be finding the Destiny Stone!"

He threw the bottle into the make shift hot spring, worrying the digidestined that he might accidentally strike the stone. When he stared at the water quietly, they breathed a sigh to know he missed. Then he went on, "But what's the point? Something is missing. But what? I crave a fight! But there's been no challenge. All have fallen before me. But what else is there?"

"Have you tried cooking?" Digitamamon came back outside with several bottles of sake now warming in a bowl of hot water, "Its a productive hobby and you don't look as silly for screaming into the void. Instead, you can pass of the screaming as criticism of other's cooking ability."

BlackWarGreymon scoffed at the idea, "Absurd. A being as powerful as myself doesn't need to create. That a lowly digimon like yourself thinks you can try to tell me what to do with that power is a joke. Give me more of that...sake."

He swiped another bottle from the egg digimon and began drinking it. Digitamamon nodded, "I was just making an observation. Most digimon only drink that much when they're trying to drown their sorrows or fill a void. Tell me friend, what bothers you? Why do you seek this...stone."

"I'm not interested in the stones. I am interested in the powerful being I see them call into existence whenever one is destroyed," BlackWarGreymon growled, "That being's power rivals my own. I will face it!"

"And what will you do when you win?" Digitamamon asked. BlackWarGreymon blinked quietly as he swelled on the question, "I don't understand."

"Well, either you'll lose and the digimon will destroy you, or you'll win. And then what?" Digitamamon asked, "You'll already have proven your the strongest so what then?"

BlackWarGreymon was silent for the longest time after that and Digitamamon added, "It sounds like someone needs more time to think. Here, have some more sake. It'll help clear your head."

BlackWarGreymon took the alcohol offered him and continued to drink while he mulled it over. A few times he nodded but he did look at Digitamamon, "You've given me something to think about, and this sake has steadied my nerves. I feel crystal clear for the first time in forever so I owe you that. Thank you for it."

"You're welcome," Digitamamon nodded. The digidestined were floored by that statement - mostly because it was coming out of a drunk. They looked between each other for some kind of confirmation that this was possible but no one was sure if he was being sincere or if the all hold had just made him stupid. The mega had a few more drinks before he finally began to show signs of drunkenness, leaning to one side until he corrected himself only to lean too far in the other direction. Then he turned to Digitamamon, "These drinks are delicious and I'd like some more. Perhaps after I defeat my enemy, I'll come here and just drink."

"You're welcome to come back any time. For now, consider it on the house," Digitamamon nodded. After a few more bottles, BlackWarGreymon stood himself up and declared, "I thinks it's time I head out and find that Destiny Stone now."

"Good luck friend," Digitamamon said, watching as the mega took one step and fell face forward into the dirt with a loud snore. The digimon was out cold, exactly what they'd been waiting for. They waited a few seconds to make sure he didn't jolt awake before rushing out of the bushes with ropes to tie him down. They thanked Digitamamon for his help but he grunted back, "Just make sure he doesn't come for me when this whole thing goes south."

He quickly scampered into the mountains without another word and the digidestined went to work making sure BlackWarGreymon couldn't move. There was no telling how long he'd be out for but they didn't want to risk that hitting him with their strongest attacks would wake him up before they were able to do any kind of meaningful damage to him. They bound him several times over, making the ropes as tight and redundant as possible so that he couldn't escape. Then they tethered him to trees and rocks, making sure that he could neither move nor escape if he did stir.

It was only after they had double knotted everything that the digidestined digivolved their partners to the highest level possible for them - Garudamon, MetalGarurumon, Zudomon, MegaKabuterimon, Silphymon, Paildramon, Digmon, and MagnaAngemon all readied themselves to fight back against the unconscious BlackWarGreymon. The mega level slept through all of it, barely stirring despite everything they had done to him. This was their time - now or never. Paildramon wasn't the kind to wait for an invitation and opened the attack, "Desperado Blaster!"

"Wing Blade!"

"Vulcan's Hammer!"

"Gold Rush!"

"Horn Buster!"

"Ice Wolf Claw!"

"Static Force!"

The attacks all hit their mark, but they didn't let up - continuing to barrage the mega digimon with every attack they had until the surrounding trees and foliage caught fire. Then they kept on going until the dust and dirt they kicked up was more than enough to create a thick fog that had them all coughing. They only stopped when Sora shouted, "Stop! Stop! It's enough!"

The digimon ceased their attack and they waited for the smoke to clear. They'd reduced a sizable part of the forest around them into a smoldering hole in the ground. In the center of that hole was the unconscious BlackWarGreymon still snoozing. There was a loud collective groan as he lay there dozing, seemingly unfazed by the endless barrage of attacks they unleashed on him. It seemed that nothing they did was going to be enough to actually destroy him. Davis suggested, "Let's just start blasting again!"

"It obviously didn't work the first time," Ken pointed out, "If it did, he would actually look hurt. All we did was make a huge hole in the ground."

"Then what else should we do?" Davis asked. Silphymon rolled her eyes, "How about we do what always works when there's a bad guy we can't kill and just throw him in the void like we always do?"

"But what about last time? He just refused to fall in and broke the gate!" TK pointed out nervously. Silphymon shrugged, "We just destroyed half this place and he slept through the whole thing! He's not going to wake up because you opened the gate of destiny. MagnaAngemon?"

"I'll try, brace yourselves," MagnaAngemon ascended into the air and began to trace a circle in the air with his sword, "Gate of Destiny!"

The golden trim appeared unbroken, then the gate it held before it parted to consume everything in its path. The digimon grabbed hold of their partners, then dug their feet into the dirt as the wind rushed past their ears to be consumed by the gate. Still unconscious, BlackWarGreymon started to slide into it along the ground until finally being lifted off into the air. For a moment, everyone thought this would be it. He'd be sucked into the void and that would be the end of it. Their hearts skipped a beat as he was finally pulled into it. Then stopped what one of his claws grabbed onto the edge of the gate again.

Stunned silence followed as he pulled himself out of the gate slowly, his eyes half open and groaning. Davis was the only one able to break out of his stupor to shout, "SHOOT HIM PAILDRAMON!"

"Desperado Blaster!" Paildramon roared, steadying his rifle and firing on the mega - peppering him with endless gunfire. This was it. This was their last chance to end him. He had to go in now. Sora shouted next, "Garudamon!"

"Wing Blade!"

"Gold Rush!"

"Horn Buster!"

"Vulcan's Hammer!"

"Metal Wolf Claw!"

"Static Force!"

It was a desperate battle now against BlackWarGreymon to finally push him into the gate. Despite every impact from their attacks, the mega level digimon simply pulled himself out slowly until his head was finally out of the gate. Any more and he'd get free. They continued to lay into him non stop - hoping to finally push him into the gate but the mega just continued to pull himself out slowly. Just as he finally managed to get one foot out, he raised his other arm to strike at the gate to destroy it. Their last attempt failed.

The roaring winds died the instant BlackWarGreymon's claw sliced clean through the gate, breaking the golden rim for the second time and setting off a chain reaction of cracks all around it. Then it shattered like glass; BlackWarGreymon fell to the ground with a thump but managed to growl at them, "What ish thish? A...hic...shtrick? Yous...Yous picks a badsh day to shtart a...hic...a...fight."

Silphymon groaned, "He's drunk and he can still out fight us. That's discouraging. What should we do?"

Paildramon readied his guns again, "Finish him off while we can! DESPERADO BLASTER!"

He rained bullets down on the digimon, hoping to stop it dead before it made its way to them to deal a punch. Despite being peppered with attacks, he slowly staggered his way back up on to his feet and wobbled - clearly unused to having any alcoholic content in his system. Joe blinked, "He may be a mega but he's not a drinker. He doesn't have any kind of tolerance to it yet. Zudomon! Quick!"

"ON IT!" Zudomon raised his hammer over his head and slammed it straight down onto BlackWarGreymon, surprised to find the Mega could still hold it over his head but with extreme difficulty as his legs shook and he clearly favored one arm over the other. The mega roared in defiance, and adjusted his legs so that he could raise the hammer over his head and throw Zudomon over his head once again, "I...I am notsh...I'm...done. DIE!"

He leapt at Zudomon, both of his arms raised over his head and ready to strike - then crashed into the hot spring they'd made. He may have been strong enough to fight, but he was still drunk and unable to concentrate clearly as he fought them. That same relieving thought turned to panic when they realized he'd find the Destiny Stone under the water. MagnaAngemon and Digmon raced to the pool to pull the mega back out before he destroyed it but it was already too late to stop. The water's surface rippled, then blew away as BlackWarGreymon ascended in a zigzag line into the air with the Destiny Stone held loosely in one hand.

He hovered there with the destiny stone, bobbing up and down as if he was trying to steady himself, "Yous...kids...I don'tch care...how-ow many ofs yous come...I...cannot be stopped. Stay out of my way."

With another swipe from his free hand, he shattered the ring that held the Destiny Stone in place and then threw it at the diner with enough force to shatter the building in one go. They groaned to see all their hard work gone in a second. Between grit teeth and immense pain, he grunted, "Now...where'sh my...my...nemesis?"

BlackWarGreymon scanned the skies expectantly, although it was hard to tell if he was bobbing uncontrollably because he was drunk or because the world was shaking like trembling. The sky cracked open to reveal more worlds above than they'd ever seen before - the Dark Ocean, the Real World, and other worlds they'd never dreamed of. And the final cracked appeared to create a rainbow of light from which the serpentine figure appeared.

The sight of it alone was enough to sober BlackWarGreymon, and he charged ahead, "There...there you are!"

The fissure stayed open, and the digidestined were certain that this would be the end. Reality was falling apart and BlackWarGreymon had gotten the fight he was fighting for. Just as BlackWarGreymon was about to strike the digimon - a column of blinding white light blasted the digimon from the heavens. The mega seemed to disappear into that column of light, reappearing only when the light faded to show he was on the ground and flat on his back. His armor was chipped and crumbling, smoke and data escaping from his body but still he didn't die. The mega forced himself back up, eager to do battle, "Yes! This is it! The power I wanted to face!"

He pushed himself back up but was blasted again by another pillar of light from above. That pillar of light lasted longer than the last one until it dissipated to show BlackWarGreymon lying there. The serpentine figure descended from the tear in the sky, revealing a long slender body as wispy and thin as clouds but with razor sharp claws and a pair of wings. Wrapped around its body from head to tail were long chains that rattled and shook with every movement it made. On its head was a long blue helm with an intricate golden trim that blended naturally into its lengthy facial hair that were almost as long as its body. Floating all along its body were countless glowing orbs that pulsated different colors at different levels of light.

Its elderly voice boomed like thunder when it spoke, "BlackWarGreymon. Enough is enough. Stay down. If I wanted it, this fight would be over."

This only angered the mega more, "So that's not your true power!? Then-"

Another pillar of light ascended from on high to crush BlackWarGreymon, driving him further into the ground and leaving him lying there in a stunned stupor. The serpent digimon warned again, "This is the last warning stay down."

"Wh...what are you!?" BlackWarGreymon growled from the ground. The serpent's booming voice roared louder than it ever had before and shook the Digital World, "I am Azulongmon, the Sovereign of the East and protector of this world."

"Whoa, just like Kyoto," Yolei gasped. Davis looked at her, "What do you mean?"

"It was something Sora's dad said during the whole thing with Musyamon," Yolei explained, "Kyoto was protected by guardian spirits - a dragon to the east, a phoenix to the south, a turtle to the north, and a tiger to the west."

"You met my dad?" Sora asked in surprise, "He never said anything."

"Well, we did kind of run into his office," Yolei offered quietly, "Back during the Kyoto trip. He probably didn't want you to worry."

Azulongmon's booming voice continued, "I have protected this realm for countless millennia, overseeing its survival until the control spires sealed my powers - leaving me unable to do more than watch as the Digital World was ravaged by conflict. Then you were born, craving nothing but the thrill of battle. You assaulted the guardians of this world, then destroyed the corner stones of this world's reality. And for what - to find a worthy opponent? You've acted like an untamed beast in your rampage, growing angrier with each stone destroyed and angrier when I left, when you were the one driving me away."

"What?" BlackWarGreymon growled.

"The control spires suppress my power and you're the walking embodiment of at least a hundred of them. Figure it out," Azulongmon's voice boomed, "I know thinking is a difficult concept for you but if you want to prove you're more than another mindless spire digimon, now's the time!"

"Then...I'm the reason you never lingered?" BlackWarGreymon's voice was disturbed for the first time since he'd been born. Azulongmon mocked him, "Congratulations - for one second you were actually smarter than the other spire digimon who came before you."

"Don't you dare mock me!" BlackWarGreymon growled only to be blasted again by another column of light from on high. Azulongmon added, "You had the potential to be better than the other spire digimon and you threw it away in the name of mindless battle. You chose to be mindless while the weaker spire digimon had no say in the matter!"

"Then what else is there?" BlackWarGreymon grumbled only to be struck again by another column of light. His armor was badly damaged now - cracked and crumbling to reveal more black smoke rising from underneath. Even parts of his skin had been damaged enough to reveal the black spire underneath. Azulongmon finished, "Everyone has given you so many suggestions on other things you can do. But you always chose mindless battle. If all you want is mindless battle then I will give you a battle you can't win."

BlackWarGreymon lay there, struggling to breath as he lay there contemplating what this powerful digimon had told him. He lay there in silent defeat for the longest time before standing up and steadying himself. He stumbled after the first step, but caught himself before he fell. Then he gently lifted off the ground - not really flying away but slowly floating into the forest. Azulongmon demanded, "Where are you going?"

"Away," BlackWarGreymon answered quietly, without looking back.

"To do what?"

"I don't know," BlackWarGreymon continued, disappearing into the trees and vanishing. Azulongmon sighed, "Then I hope you find peace."

"Poor guy," Izzy frowned after the mega digimon. MegaKabuterimon looked at him, "You're kidding right?"

Izzy folded his arms and explained, "No. I think...he just realized that the very thing he was living for - a fight with Azulongmon - wasn't what he wanted. He never listened to anyone else when he was told that because nobody could make him listen. Now there's someone out there who can and...I think the realization has broken him."

"Speaking plainly, he's probably no more mentally developed than a child," Joe added sheepishly, "A child who's been put in the corner for the very first time. This could be good for him in the long run."

"Or bad for us," Zudomon added sharply. Their attention was brought back to the serpentine Azulongmon, "Digidestined, it's so good to finally have the chance to meet you after all this time."

"And now he's talking to us," Yolei whimpered, "What do we do?"

"With a being this powerful, I think we should be respectful," Cody reasoned, "It's only polite."

"Sup dude!" Davis said with an excited wave at the giant digimon looming over them. The others were floored by his nonchalant greeting but Azulongmon seemed amused by it, "I'm well. How about you?"

"Tired. Kinda thirsty," Davis answered. The casualness of their conversation was mind blowing. Azulongmon nodded at them all, "Thank you for all you've done. And I'm sorry for what's still to come."

"Still to come?" Paildramon repeated quietly.

"Myotismon," TK glowered, his fist tightening in unspoken anger. Azulongmon added, "Yes. The Digimon Tamer said he would leave you a message. Please tell me you got it."

"We did," Silphymon answered, "Who cares about that? It didn't tell us anything useful."

"On the contrary, it told you exactly what it needed to do," Azulongmon answered, "Didn't it?"

After a beat, he frowned, "Dammit, Digimon Tamer."

"Oh, you say that too," Matt rolled his eyes unironically. Azulongmon ignored his complaints and asked, "Where is he?"

"He's at our school, going out with my sister, and pretending to be a human," Davis answered sheepishly. Azulongmon's mouth appeared to have fallen wide open while Kari added, "We were trying to find a way to change him back when all of this happened - Arukenimon, BlackWarGreymon, the Destiny Stones."

"Oh...oh dear," Azulongmon frowned, his tone becoming panicked, "He's been absent. What of Agumon?"

"Mummymon shot him," Kari added quietly, "He's resting at ShogunGekomon's place but hasn't woken up yet."

Azulongmon closed his eyes, "Then we're in greater danger than I realized. If the Digimon Tamer is in hiding and Agumon hasn't been able to oversee things, then..."

He paused for a moment too long that sent a familiar chill down their spine. When he finally spoke, he only had grave news for them, "Listen to me digidestined. Those two always safe guarded reality. if neither of them is around now to provide those safe guards, then disaster of untold proportions is risking all worlds. Just look at what happened to the Destiny Stones. Reality's foundations have been shaken and nearly torn apart. We cannot allow that to happen! I will use what little of my powers I can to recreate the lost Destiny Stones."

One of the orbs floating beside his body came to life with light and scattered into four distinct lights, "These seeds of light will eventually grow into full destiny stones. Until then, the boundary between worlds is weak and there's little we sovereigns can do to fix it. Enemies to all worlds linger in the dark, biding their time and awaiting their chance to strike."

He began to distort, becoming as thin and transparent as the clouds his body was made of. TK asked, "What can we do? Tell us and we'll do it."

"Destroy the control spires that suppress our powers, awaken Agumon, and restore Tamer's memories," Azulongmon's answer echoed in the air before he faded to nothing - vanishing as the tears in the sky finally closed. TK looked at the others, not sure that this was the resolution that he'd expected. BlackWarGreymon was stopped for now but what good was that when they still had no clue what they were supposed to do. TK patted Pegasusmon's mane and frowned, "What now?"

"You heard the guy. We destroy every control spire we can find!" Davis said enthusiastically, with a great big grin on his face, "I mean, we're here to protect the Digital World and we just got told by the biggest digimon out there that those control spires are bad news. Let's tear them all down!"

"It's a start," Kari said with a soft smile, feeling something close to relief for the first time in forever.


	39. Christmas Party

Months passed after BlackWarGreymon had simply wandered off and they hadn't seen him since. It was just as well as the older digidestined quickly became overwhelmed with after school activities and prep classes for high school entrance exams. Joe especially was having a hard time with his college entrance exams. Thankfully, the younger digidestined still traveled to the Digital World after school to help rebuild the damage that'd been done and to destroy as many control spires as they could find. But neither Arukenimon nor Mummymon came to stop them, and their sudden inactivity made them anxious. Every day, they were just a little more on edge at the idea that those two would come to attack them, and every day nothing happened.

Late summer turned to fall with the browning leaves, then to winter with the crisp cold air and snow fall. Before the digidestined knew it, the winter break was upon them. And that meant Christmas was just around the corner for them. During one of their return trips to ShogunGekomon's Village after clearing out more spires, Davis turned to the rest of them with an idea, "How about we surprise the older guys with their digimon for Christmas? Y'know, bring them to the Real World for a day so that they can all have fun together that doesn't involve fighting bad guys. Then they can have an actual Christmas together."

"I like the sound of that," Kari agreed happily, noting Gatomon seemed to purr but she was quick to look away and pretend nothing had happened.

"As much as I like that idea, I'm not sure any of their parents would like having sudden uninvited guests," Cody reasoned, "We should try to be a bit more considerate of that fact."

"So really, it's just Mimi we should be worried about," TK concluded, "Her dad is the only one who's really freaked out about digimon. It's kind of hard to blame him after what happened."

"But Palmon probably feels lonely without her since she's the only one who hasn't gotten to spend much time with her partner," Yolei added, "So I say we just bring her any way. Besides, her dad is kind of a jerk. Who cares what he wants?"

"Her dad is coming from a place of caring," Hawkmon pointed out to her partner calmly, talking to her like he were her parent, "If we do this, it'd be smart to give Palmon an out in case things go south. The last thing we need is a fight to spoil their Christmas."

"Okay, then it's settled," Davis punched the air, "We bring the digimon to the digidestined for an awesome digipresent on digiChristmas."

"Stop saying digi," Gatomon replied flatly while they continued straight into the village. Cody looked back once and noticed that Ken had lagged a little behind the rest of the group sheepishly with a hand behind his back. Wormmon was at his feet, looking just as concerned. Cody's eyes narrowed suspiciously, trying not to think the worst of the boy, "What's wrong, Ken?"

He said it just loudly enough that the others all stopped in their tracks to look back as well, and Ken was now sweating bullets. Ken mumbled something under his breath, looking around at all the digimon and digidestined before cursing again. Davis walked over to him in complete disregard for the fact that he seemed to make Ken more uncomfortable, "What's up with you man? You look sick."

"Just…nervous," he choked out, avoiding Davis's gaze. Cody couldn't help but worry that Davis was unknowingly putting himself in harm's way, and readied himself to jump in if anything went wrong. Ken took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and drew his hand out to hold out five envelopes sealed with Christmas Tree stickers. With his eyes still closed, he blurted out, "I wanted to invite you guys to a Christmas party at my place."

"I'm in," Davis answered enthusiastically, taking an envelope with a smile and looking back at the others with a big smile across his face, "I'll see you there dude. I'll bring the games!"

"Same, it'd be nice if we all hung out outside the Digital World again," TK said cheerily, "It's been months since the last time."

Yolei nodded in agreement, "Yeah, the concert was nice. It'll be fun, especially with you Ken."

"Yeah," Ken nodded, bright red in the face in a weird reversal of what the digidestined would have expected to see. Of course, everyone had expected Yolei to say something to that effect about Ken. That didn't stop Hawkmon from stepping between the two of them and grumbling, "Please keep your distance from each other you two."

Both of them were bright red now and stepped away from each other while the rest of the digidestined laughed. Still giggling, Kari took an invitation from him as well, "I'd love to come. Plus, it'll get me away from my mom's cooking. Her Christmas Turkey is morel like Christmas jerky."

"I'll celebrate that," Gatomon added quietly with a tone of excitement. Cody was the last one to approach Ken, feeling guilt for his suspicion and paranoia about Ken. Of all the things that he was going to do, Cody didn't think this would be one of them. He frowned quietly, not quite looking at Ken and hesitating to take the last invitation. In the end, Ken had to extend his hand to him, "Did you want to come Cody?"

Cody felt shame that Ken had still invited him after the hard time he gave him, and quietly took the letter, "Yes, I'd like to come Ken."

He wanted to say something else, to apologize for how he'd treated him in the past but was unable to bring himself to do so. In fact, it made him think about his own failings - Davis had been the first to befriend Ken and had even managed to get his partner to DNA digivolve with him. Yolei and Kari had done the same. Which meant his digimon would mostly likely DNA digivolve with Patamon. But that hadn't happened no matter what. WereGarurumon said it was because they had to be of one mind and heart. Did that mean something was wrong with him?

"Hey, Ken," Veemon approached the boy, "Can we come too?"

A soft smile appeared on his face as he answered, "Yeah, I'd like to have all of you guys there."

Still, that didn't sour the mood as Davis patted him on the back, "Awesome! It'll be a fun digidestined Digi-Christmas Digi-party! Yes, I'm just digi-saying this to digi-annoy you Gatomon. Digimon."

"AARRGGH!" Gatomon leapt onto Davis face, knocking the boy over on the ground. Before she could do anything else, Kari pulled her partner off, "Play nice you two."

"Yeah, Gatomon! Play nice!" Davis grumbled from the ground while the cat retorted, "I did ask nicely."

"Should we get the othersh Chrishtmash preshent firsht, Davis?" Veemon said, gesturing to the older digidestined's digimon as they busily helped around the town. Davis rubbed his nose, "Not yet Veemon! Let's wait until it's closer to Christmas."

* * *

Arukenimon screamed out as unbearable pain coursed through her body before falling to the ground. Her fingers dug themselves into the dirt as she struggled to push herself back up. Mummymon was just behind her, reaching out as if to help her but holding himself back in fear of the man who lay just beyond the screen before them. Oikawa frowned and pressed the button again, causing Arukenimon to spasm in pain and scream once more. Mummymon wanted this to stop. It couldn't go on any longer. Eventually, his concern for her overruled his fear of the man, "Sir, she's had enough. Please stop."

Oikawa took his finger off the computer for a second before pressing down on it again, clearly unnerved. Arukenimon's moment of respite was brief, and all the crueler for it before she eventually begged and screamed for it to stop. That seemed to satisfy him as he took his finger off the button, "So…the digidestined are tearing down control spire after control spire. A number that is severely limited and hampering our progress. We needed those spires in place. We already lost a good number of them fighting the digidestined and even more trying to stop monster you made from them. So what do you plan on doing to make up for this miscalculation?"

"We…still have friends in…low places," Arukenimon spat out between twitches of excruciating pain, "And Dragomon…is still after The Digimon Tamer. If we…give the right push…we can buy more time."

"More time won't stop the digidestined from destroying the control spires," Oikawa spat back, "Without the spires, we can't generate enough energy to…to…oh…hm…we'll need to acquire Ken Ichijouji but this plan may work."

"What plan?" Mummymon asked nervously, offering a hand to help up Arukenimon but being swatted away. Oikawa smiled, "There's more than one way to skin a cat and more than one way to get the energy we need. Meet with Dragomon and do what you must to convince him to join us. If he wants the girl, then give her to him. It has nothing to do with us."

"Sir?" Mummymon asked nervously, genuinely scared of his master and unsure of what he was planning. He cast a sideway glance at Arukenimon and saw only resent plenty in her eyes - a deep anger for heir boss.

* * *

On the morning of Christmas Eve, Davis finished getting dressed in his best winter clothes - a thick blue sweater beneath a brown bomber jacket with green pants and blue boots. DemiVeemon had been wide awake since the early hours, excited for their surprise to the other digidestined. He picked up his partner and got ready to go leave when he noticed his sister also getting dressed up in a nice pink sweater beneath her full length green coat and matching olive pants. He stopped when he saw her, "Why are you getting dressed up?"

"Taichi and I have a date today. We're going shopping around town, then we're going to see _The Teenage Wolves_ in concert, then we're going to spend the night at his place," Jun explained with a rosy smile on her face. At the sound of that, their dad poked his head out of the living room, "The hell you are!"

"Honey, it's fine," their mom said from the kitchen, "Taichi's a nice boy. He isn't the kind of person who'd do that kind of thing."

"He's a _boy_. They're all like that," their dad explained to his wife. Jun groaned in disgust and gagged, "Ew! Dad! No! Taichi's not like that. You know that. You've met him."

"Oh, will his parents be home when you stay the night at his place?" their dad shouted. Jun frowned, "No. That's why I'm staying the night, so he won't be alone on Christmas."

"He's spending Christmas alone?" DemiVeemon asked sadly. Jun patted the little digimon's head, "Yeah, his parents always head out to the work before he wakes up and don't get home until late. So he's basically home alone all the time. That's why I wanted to spend the night at his place."

Their dad rolled his eyes, ready to offer his own solution, "Well then why don't you two just come back and spend the night here? That way, he doesn't do anything to hurt my _little_ girl!"

"I'm fourteen, dad!" she stamped her foot on the ground, "I am not a _little girl_ anymore."

"That's exactly my point," he concluded before pausing. Then his mood changed, "Actually, I change my mind. Come back here so that _you_ don't try anything on him!"

"And I'm out before this conversation gets weird," Davis said, hurrying out the door, "I'm heading over to Ken's place for Christmas. I'll be back late! BYE!"

Of course that was going to be the last stop. If everything went according to plan, Kari should've already messaged the older digidestined to meet them at an isolated spot beneath a bridge while TK, Ken, and Cody rounded up the digimon in the Digital World to take them to their respective partners. He was the last to arrive at the beach where Kari and Yolei were waiting with Sora, Matt, Joe, and Izzy. The cold brisk air nipped at his face but he was warmed by the sight of Kari wearing a pink pea coat and The four older digidestined looked between each other anxiously while Yolei scolded him, "It's about time you got here Davis. Why are you late?"

"Walked into an argument between Jun and dad," Davis groaned, "She wants to spend the night at Taichi's place and…forget it. I don't want to think about it."

It was hard to tell if Sora's face was red from the cold or if she was blushing. The others were just as lost, but Izzy took their mind off the subject by asking, "So why'd you call us out here anyway?"

"Just a surprise we wanted to give all you guys," Yolei smiled, producing a small laptop from within her jacket pocket. She opened it up and face the screen towards them, "Ready? Stand back!"

The screen came to life with brilliant bright light that blinded them all. When it passed, the digidestined were surprised to see their partners leaping into their arms, "Surprise! Merry Christmas!"

There were cheers and tearful greetings as their partners flew into their arms. Through the same flash of light appeared TK, Patamon, Cody, Upamon, Ken, and Wormmon. After a lengthy hug with his own partner, Matt was finally able to look up at his little brother, "Thanks TK."

"Hey, don't thank me. This was Davis's idea," TK answered, happy to see the smile on his brother's face. Davis slapped him on the back at that moment, "So is Palmon taken care of?"

"Yeah, we dropped her off in Mimi's room while she was asleep," Cody answered, "It'll be the best Christmas ever for her. Or the worst."

"Wow, it's a lot colder here than last time," Gomamon shivered, "Did you guys forget to pay the heat bill or something?"

Joe scooped up his partner and helped him into his coat, "It's winter in Japan right now, buddy. The whole country is cold."

"That's nuts," Gomamon closed his eyes and let himself sink into the warmth of Joe's coat. Matt patted Gabumon and thanked them, "Thanks again guys. I'd like to stay and chat but I have to go get ready for my concert."

"Concert? What for?" Gabumon asked. Matt scratched the back of his head, "My band got a lucky break during that time we were the opening act for that one idol. Some big shot producer noticed us and wanted us to perform at a Christmas concert. You guys are invited to come if you'd like."

"I would love to hear you perform!" Tentomon said excitedly, "We should all go!"

"I'd like to know what all the fuss is about," Gomamon nodded. Matt's face lit up at the idea of having them all come, "Sure, you're all welcome to come see the concert."

"Sorry, we already have plans tonight," Yolei apologized but still smiling, "We're going to hang out at Ken's tonight!"

"Hey, no worries. You guys don't want to hang out," Matt shrugged, feigning hurt emotions, "My little brother doesn't want to spend time with me anymore. He's too cool for his older brother. Or too delinquent."

"Come on Matt," TK groaned, throwing his hands up in frustration. Matt laughed and punched his brother's arm, "Don't worry about it. You guys have fun. Besides, we'll be on TV anyway."

"TV? Really?" Yolei adjusted her glasses disbelievingly. Matt nodded, "Yeah, believe it! We're being hosted by some big record label and they want our debut concert to be all anyone watches."

* * *

Wizardmon sat in Agumon's room, staying by his side while he recovered from Mummymon's attack. He hadn't stirred once since which left him defenseless if he were to be attacked and it was his goal to make sure he stayed safe from any assassin who would try to harm him. Of course that didn't mean the wizard didn't have his own reasons for staying with the digimon. Agumon was the last known link to the Digimon Tamer and, therefore, the last link to the Ancient's archive of knowledge from the lost city of Aca'dehmia. Countless volumes, scrolls, and texts of information the likes of which he could only dream of.

To have a chance just to read one piece of information from that would be...all he could ever ask for.

He was disturbed from his thoughts when he sensed movement and looked up in time to see the little digimon jolt awake in his bed, "It's time."

"What?" Wizardmon jumped away in surprise. He was unconscious just a second ago and now he was wide awake as if nothing had happened. He was about to ask what had caused him to stir when Agumon jumped out of bed and pressed a finger to his lips, "Shh! No one can know. But I kinda need your help Wizardmon. Do you know transformation spells?"

"Well, yes. I do but what does-"

"Shh!" Agumon interrupted again, "Don't worry about it. Just trust me. Now where's that digivice?"

"Here," Wizardmon produced it from within his coat, "Izzy gave it to me for safe keeping in between his attempts to release Tamer's true identity. So...what are we-"

"Shh!" Agumon took the digivice from the wizard, "We don't have time to talk. Come with me. Digiport Open!"

* * *

Sora stood at the entrance to the large tent that had been set up for the music event. The line of people was longer than she expected, but she supposed that Matt's band was more successful than she thought. She also realized that a good number of people coming were either couples or girls her age chanting out the names of their favorite band members. Biyomon was beside her in heavy disguise - a long black raincoat that she used to hide her more alien features so that she wouldn't draw unwanted attention. As she waited, she also couldn't help but notice one couple in particular braving the cold to get inside - Taichi and Jun.

Taichi was wearing a thick black sweater and pants beneath a blue hooded long coat with a blue headband to keep his hair out of his face. Jun had her arms wrapped around his and the two were so engrossed in each other that they hardly noticed anyone else. She wanted to say hi, but was unable to bring herself to interrupt their moment of happiness. She also found her thoughts wandering over to what could've been again - what life would've been like if Tai had never _died_. But dwelling on what could've been...wouldn't go anywhere. There was no way it would happen as it was now. Tamer or Taichi or whoever was not Tai. And to think that was a waste. For a moment, she sort of understood how Matt felt. Then she thought of all the times Matt had walked her home, the times they'd spent between classes, and the other small things they'd done for each other.

As she dwelled on this, Taichi noticed her and waved, saying something to Jun who also waved.

They made their way to her, Sora's heart coming to a stop in her chest when he said, "Hey! Sora, right? Coming to see your boyfriend's concert?"

"He's not my boyfriend," Sora answered sheepishly, adjusting Biyomon's hood to keep her face hidden. Taichi blinked, "Who's the kid?"

"My sister," Sora said quickly, "She's really shy."

"Oh, don't be afraid. We don't bite," Taichi said patting the little digimon on the head. Jun giggled, "Oh, so cute. She doesn't even want to show her face. I wish Davis was like that."

"You wish Davis was a girl?" Taichi blinked in surprise. Jun shook her head, "No, I just wish he wasn't annoying. Anyway, when are they going to let us inside already?"

"No idea, but it looks like he has a lot of fans here," Sora looked around at all the girls. Suddenly, she felt someone grab her arm and she spun around to see an older man wearing a staff shirt. He looked at a clipboard, then to her and asked, "Sorry, are you Sora Takenouchi?"

"Y-yeah," she nodded nervously, already sensing Taichi getting ready to intervene behind her. He thumbed behind him, "Okay, Mr. Ishida asked me to come and find you. He has a back stage pass for you to come in."

"Oh, I-" she paused to look at Biyomon, then to Taichi and Jun, "Can my sister and friends come to?"

"Sure, whatever," he said quietly, reaching into his coat to produce several badges on strings that he handed to each of them, "These are for you guys. Now please come with me."

"Alright, Sora," Taichi cheered excitedly as he followed along with Jun still wrapped tight around his arm. The staff member guided them away from the line and into a roped off area behind the tent with bulking security guards standing at the entrance. Inside the back stage, a crew of hundreds wored on lights and sound equipment for the night's concerts. Further in was a room marked by a star on the door with Teenage Wolves scrawled in black marker. The staff member knocked on the door, "Mr. Ishida, I have your friends here."

"Awesome!" Matt's voice said as he opened the door to see them. His face lit upon seeing her, and Sora was sure her face turned a bright red immediately. He smiled at the sight of her, then frowned when he saw the rest of them. Still, he let them in, "Come in. Hey, thanks man."

"No worries. You're on in an hour Mr. Ishida. We'll be doing sound checks in a moment," the staff member said before leaving. Matt ushered them inside where the rest of the band was busy tuning their instruments or preparing for a night long performance. The room was large enough to fit several make up chairs facing a mirror, chairs and couches to relax in and a couple of the notes. Sitting at the end of it was Gabumon doing his best impression of a stuffed doll. He did wink upon seeing them but looked incredibly uncomfortable. One of the band members took one look at Sora and smiled, "Is that your girlfriend, dude?"

"This is Sora," Matt said without correcting him, instead introducing the rest of them, "And this is Taichi, Jun, and..."

He paused when he got to Biyomon so Sora covered, "My sister."

"Anyway, thanks for coming," Matt said with a big grin. She returned the smile, "Haven't missed one yet. Oh, I brought these for you."

She reached into her own jacket to show a tin of cookies that she'd been keeping hidden inside. She could already see his face turning bright red upon receiving it and his band cheered him, "Ooh! Matt's getting love chocolates!"

"Thanks Sora," he said shyly, as he took the tin of cookies from her. It was a small gift, a gesture to show she'd at least been thinking about what he said. She could tell just by the look on his eyes that he was happy to receive the gifts, but saw an anxiousness there too, "Are you nervous?"

"Little bit," Matt answered quietly as he placed the tin on his chair, "I mean...we've never done anything like this before."

"You'll do great! I'm looking forward to it," Sora said supportingly. Matt rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "I hope you like it."

"Do you two need a moment?" Taichi asked seriously, "Because we can wait outside if you guys don't want to keep using double entendres."

"Taichi," Jun slapped his chest warningly. Taichi laughed and took Jun's hand, "It was a joke. Come on, let's go wander the back stage."

"I think we'll be going with you," Matt's band mate said, "Although I see why Matt wanted that song so bad. You can have the song man, but remember that Russ gets to sing the open."

"Fine," Matt grumbled in frustration as he backed off the guys as they all filed out.

"What song?" Sora asked nervously. Another of the band mates winked, "A song we didn't want to do but Matt insisted so we made a deal that he has to give up lead vocals on some of the songs."

"Really?" Sora said in surprise. Matt growled at the rest of his band mates, "Guys, shut up."

"Don't worry about it. Have fun you two," the last band mate said as he stepped outside. Matt slammed the door behind them, "Dammit Russel."

"Are you...embarrassed?" Sora frowned, taken aback by Matt's bashfulness. He shook his head, "No, of course not. I just wish they'd get off my case. They say that I got my head up my ass to only focus on one girl when I can have my pick but I don't think it's weird to have my eyes on only one person."

His answer was surprisingly straight forward, taking her off guard. She had known that Matt had liked her ever since their talk in the Digital World but she'd never guessed that he liked her this much. Still, he blushed at the directness of his response, "And I know you like...Tai or Tamer or..."

Sora looked at him as he fell back on the couch in frustration. She sat down beside him, unsure of where to even start, "Matt, I...I don't want to wait or chase something that's not there. It took me a while to realize...but I get it now."

"Get what?" Matt turned to her with an adorably shy face. It disappeared when she placed a kiss on his cheek. Her heart skipped a beat when she did that, unsure what led her to do it. It must've been the heat of the moment. But at that moment, it felt so right.

"Yeesh, I think I'm going to leave too," Gabumon frowned, finally breaking his character as a doll and throwing on one of Matt's coats. It was only then that they both realized they weren't alone in his trailer. Neither said a word as Gabumon left the trailer and said, "I'm going to go find some food. Bye!"

* * *

Ken led the way back to his house as they made their way to the party. The gift exchange seemed to go well and the older digidestined seemed to be happy to get their presents. He was nervous about having friends over for the first time and barely said a word. Davis did some kind of weird shuffle as he happily explained how to play each card game that he knew from Go Fish to poker. Upon hearing of the game, Cody frowned, "Gambling isn't exactly how I was hoping to spend this Christmas."

"What's the matter? Afraid of losing your Christmas candy?" Davis smiled devilishly. DemiVeemon jumped up and down excitedly, "Ooh! Ooh! I want to play if I get candy!"

"Yeah, but you'll lose it all to Upamon if you're not careful," Yolei teased, "And he's got a stomach like a bottomless pit."

"Oh boy! Candy!" Upamon bounces up and down at the sound of his name, "Are we getting candy? I want candy!"

"When we get there," Yolei raised up a bag, "I did bring snacks, but I am not betting any."

"I think it'll be fun," TK said amusedly, "I mean, why not add a little stakes to the game? It's not like we'll be doing anyone any harm."

"I'm up for it if we have any tuna in there," Gatomon added from Kari's arms. It seemed it was settled then and there, they were going to bet on candy.

* * *

Sora stood with Biyomon, Taichi, and Jun in the pit in front of the stage. She looked back to see the size of the crowd and was amazed at the number of people coming just to hear them sing. The whole crowd cheered and calls for the band to start when the lights dimmed and a silence fell over the crowd. Then a harmonica played a few soft rhythms that led to the whole crowd cheering. Then the spotlights came on to show the members of the band now on stage at their instruments. The drummer started the beat, followed by Matt on guitar and the bassist. The member on keys continued, but had a microphone in his hand at the ready.

Already, Sora could tell this wasn't like their usual songs. The tune sounded more country but with a rock twist that the crowd was excited over. The addition of the bass and the keys gave it a blues feel that set it apart. Then Matt began by oohing several times before singing the first verse.

_"I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad,_

_I got sunshine in a bag,_

_I'm useless but not for long,_

_The future is coming on!_

_I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad,_

_I got sunshine in a bag,_

_I'm useless but not for long,_

_The future is coming on,_

_It's coming on,_

_It's coming on,_

_It's coming on..."_

With each line, Matt took a step further and further back from center stage before the drummer banged the drums loudly. While he had to give up vocals, the band seemed to at least give him the chorus. Once Matt was out of the way, the keyboardist produced his microphone and ran to take center stage. It was a sudden switch to an unexpected rap verse that somehow managed to flow with the song perfectly.

_"Finally someone let me out of my cage!_

_Now, time for me is nothing cause I'm counting no age!_

_Now I couldn't be there!_

_Now you shouldn't be scared!_

_I'm good at repairs!_

_And I'm under each snare!_

_Intangible_ _,_

_Bet you didn't think so I command you to!_

_Panoramic view!_

_Look I'll make it all manageable!_

_Pick and choose,_

_Sit and lose,_

_All you different crews!_

_Chicks and dudes,_

_Who you think is really kickin' tunes?_

_Picture you gettin' down in a picture tube!_

_Like you lit the fuse,_

_You think it's fictional?_

_Mystical? Maybe._

_Spiritual_ _,_

_Hero who appears in you to clear your view when you're too crazy,_

_Lifeless_ _,_

_To those the definition for what life is,_

_Priceless,_

_To you because I put you on the high shit,_

_You like it?_

_Gun smokin' righteous with one toke,_

_You're psychic among those,_

_Possess you with one go!"_

He stepped back as the drummer banged the drum loudly again, letting Matt retake center stage and sing his verse,

" _I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad,_

_I got sunshine in a bag,_

_I'm useless but not for long,_

_The future is coming on!_

_I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad,_

_I got sunshine in a bag,_

_I'm useless but not for long,_

_The future (that's right) is coming on,_

_It's coming on,_

_It's coming on,_

_It's coming on!_ "

The song was different, but this couldn't have been the song Matt had fought them so hard for. It must've been a new one they'd put together before hand. And it was just as good as anything else they'd done. The drummer banged the rhythm again, signaling to Matt to step back so that the keyboardist could take back center stage,

" _The essence the basics,_

_Without did you make it?_

_Allow me to make this,_

_Child-like in nature,_

_Rhythm,_

_You have it or you don't that's a fallacy,_

_I'm in them,_

_Every sprouting tree,_

_Every child of peace,_

_Every cloud and sea,_

_You see with your eyes,_

_I see destruction and demise,_

_Corruption in disguise_ _,_

_From this fuckin' enterprise,_

_Now I'm sucked into your lies,_

_Through Russel, not his muscles but percussion he provides,_

_For me as a guide,_

_Y'all can see me now 'cause you don't see with your eye,_

_You perceive with your mind!_

_That's the inner,_

_So I'mma stick around with Russ and be a mentor,_

_Bust a few rhymes so motherfuckers remember where the thought is,_

_I brought all this,_

_So you can survive when law is lawless,_

_Feelings, sensations that you thought was dead,_

_No squealing, remember that it's all in your head!_ "

One last round of banging drums, and Matt retook the center stage to sing the encore one last time,

" _I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad,_

_I got sunshine in a bag,_

_I'm useless but not for long,_

_The future is coming on!_

_I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad,_

_I got sunshine in a bag,_

_I'm useless but not for long,_

_My future is coming on!_

_It's coming on!_

_It's coming on!_

_It's coming on!_

_It's coming on!_

_My future is coming on!_

_It's coming on!_

_It's coming on!_

_It's coming on!_

_It's coming on!_

_My future is coming on!_

_It's coming on!_

_It's coming on!_

_It's coming on!_

_It's coming on!_

_My future is coming on!_

_It's coming on!_

_It's coming on!_

_My future is coming on!_

_It's coming on!_

_It's coming on!_

_My future is coming on!_

_It's coming on!_

_It's coming on!_

_My future!"_

Each band member slowly allowed themselves to fade out as Matt continued to sing until only the last line of the song echoed in the air. After a moment's silence, the crowd cheered excitedly as Matt announced to the crowd, "Are you ready to rock, Tokyo!?"

The crowd roared even louder, with Jun and Taichi screaming next to Sora. She whooped on her own of course, cheering them on as they began the next song. The sound was more upbeat and pop than the previous one but this was just Matt's style. His music somehow defied convention and blended genres, although perhaps that was due to ShogunGekomon. But there was also something simple about it. Almost every girl in the audience started screaming as Matt began,

_"I know you're not to kiss and tell._

_But maybe nobody has ever kissed as well as you do,_

_Don't know what's got a hold of me,_

_Alcohol or alchemy,_

_I know you're not to kiss and tell - oh well."_

It was a love song. The kind his band would never do. It was no wonder that the band didn't want to perform it, and no wonder that they wanted a turn at vocals if they were going to perform. For a moment, she wondered if this song was meant for her. No, there was no doubt. This was meant for her. The tune got louder as Matt motioned into the crowd,

" _Anywhere you're gonna be, that's where I wanna be,_

_Right now, did I say that out loud?_

_Put your hands up in the air,_

_Wave 'em like you care and I'll be there,_

_Anywhere you're gonna be, that's where I wanna be,_

_Right now; did I say that out loud?"_

His band joined him in the background, as he reached out his hand to the crowds. He fixed everyone who held out theirs but stopped a moment when his hand touched Sora's before continuing on.

_"_ _Woah-oh woah-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh,_

_Woah-oh woah-oh—_ _oh-oh-oh-oh._ _"_

Matt and his band played a few more notes before he continued, pointing at her specifically as he sang,

" _They tell you not to plan too far,_

_But I'm already miles ahead, and I intend to be wherever you are,_

_Don't know what's got a hold of me,_

_It's greater than gravity,_

_They tell you not to plan too far, but we are._

_Anywhere you're gonna be, that's where I wanna be,_

_Right now, did I say that out loud?_

_Put your hands up in the air,_

_Wave 'em like you care and I'll be there,_

_Anywhere you're gonna be, that's where I wanna be,_

_Right now; did I say that out loud?"_

His band joined him in again for the chorus, looking slightly annoyed about Matt's blatant actions but still keeping their upbeat attitude,

_"_ _Woah-oh woah-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh,_

_Woah-oh woah-oh—_ _oh-oh-oh-oh._ _"_

They stopped so that Matt could sing the next part,

" _When you get close,_

_And my heart goes,_

_Boom-boom-pow!_

_Did I say that out loud?_

_When you kiss me,_

_And it hits me,_

_If I try to write about it,_

_Someone's gonna diss me,_

_Miss me miss me,_

_Now we got a history,_

_Is it such a mystery,_

_How I fell for you?"_

The entire band sang the next line with him,

" _How I fell for you?"_

A drum solo followed before Matt began to sing the chorus,

" _Anywhere you're gonna be, that's where I wanna be,_

_Right now, did I say that out loud?_

_Put your hands up in the air,_

_Wave 'em like you care and I'll be there,_

_Anywhere you're gonna be, that's where I wanna be,_

_Right now; did I say that out loud?_

_Woah-oh woah-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh,_

_Woah-oh woah-oh—_ _oh_ _—_ _oh_ _—_ _oh-oh._ _"_

Then the song began to fade out with a few chimes from the keys before Matt finished,

" _I know you're not to kiss and tell, oh well."_

As the last notes echoed out, Sora found herself bright red in face. Matt had looked directly at her during the whole song, although he'd done his best to gesture out to the crowd, she alone knew that he was looking straight at her the entire time he sang. This was a song for her. And she blushed. Any joy she could've derived was taken away when she heard Jun say, "That song was so romantic, Taichi."

"Yeah," Taichi had his arms around her in a tight embrace, "It was different, but it was nice. What did you think, Sora? I think he was trying to say something."

He said that with a wink that seemed to tease what he thought their relationship was, but she said nothing to contradict him. Instead she blushed and looked away as Matt began playing their next song. It had a similar upbeat rhythm to the last song but it wasn't the same love song he'd just performed. After a few rhythms, Matt began the song,

_"Struck by lightning, sounds pretty frightening_

_But you know the chances are so small_

_Stuck by a bee sting, nothing but a B-thing_

_Better chance you_ _'_ _re gonna buy it at the mall_

_But it_ _'_ _s a twenty-three four-to-one_

_That you can fall in love by the end of this song_

_So get up, get up_

_Tell the bookie "put a bet up"_

_Not a damn thing will go wrong_

_The odds are that we will probably be alright_

_Odds are we're gonna be alright, odds are we're gonna be alright tonight_

_The odds are that we will probably be alright_

_Odds are we're gonna be alright, odds are we're gonna be alright for another night_

_Hit by the A-Train, crashed in an airplane_

_I wouldn_ _'_ _t recommend either one_

_Killed by a Great White or a meteorite_

_I guess there ain_ _'_ _t no way to go that_ _'_ _s fun_

_But somewhere in the world someone is gonna fall in love by the end of this song_

_So get up, get up_

_No it_ _'_ _s never gonna let up so you might as well sing along_

_The odds are that we will probably be alright-"_

Suddenly, the lights died and the audio equipment cut out. The crowd was silent for a moment, before boos and jeers broke out at the concert's abrupt and sudden interruption. Sora asked, "What just happened?"

* * *

As soon as they arrived at Ken's place, his parents gave them all kinds of snacks and drinks which they quickly shuffled into Ken's room to keep their digimon from breaking out from too much excitement. Yolei set down the bag of candy for their partners to munch on cheerily, with the snacks on the side for them to continue gorging on - cookies, chocolates, sweet candies, chips, and more. TK was immediately drawn to a picture of what looked like a younger Ken and what was obviously his brother Sam in what must've been happier times. TK had long since accepted why Ken did what he did, but he wished he and Matt had been able to spend time like that. However, he wouldn't wish to have Matt out of this world for a second.

Almost immediately, they began playing poker despite Yolei's protest and did bet candy to see who would win. And unfortunately for them, that candy vanished almost immediately since their partners wouldn't stop eating their winnings when no one was looking. This was good for Yolei though since she had been on a losing streak since the game began. Davis came close several times but his excitement always led to a poor poker face. To everyone's surprise, Cody won the most times because his impassive attitude made it hard to read his face and, thus, hard to tell what he was thinking at any given moment. Once the last of the candy had been eaten unapologetically, Yolei threw up her hands, "Well, now there's nothing left to bet. What do you guys want to do now?"

"Well, we still have something else we can bet," Davis said with a very mischievous grin on his face, "We could always bet our clothes and play str-"

He was cut off by Cody slapping the back of his head, "No, Davis."

"Aw, come on," Davis bemoaned being shut down. Yolei backed away, "Yeah, that's too much for me."

"I don't get it, what was he going to say?" DemiVeemon bounced along. Cody whispered the explanation into the little digimon's ear, making him cock his head to the side, "I don't get it. What's wrong with not wearing any clothes?"

"We do it all the time, it doesn't bug us," Gatomon added coyly from the bed, her tail swinging back and forth. Kari folded her arms nervously, "Well, it's different for humans. That stuff is...not something you do."

Ken added, "Well some people do. We call them nudists in our world. It's weird."

"What's weird with going around the way you were born?" Upamon asked, bouncing up and down excitedly. Kari covered her face with her hand to hide her flushed face. This was not the conversation she wanted to have on Christmas, "Can we please not talk about this? It's so...weird."

"I'm only teasing," Gatomon said with a smile, just as they heard a thundering boom from somewhere outside. They would've mistaken it for thunder if it hadn't shook the entire apartment and knocked them all down. Yolei massaged her head and checked on Poromon first, "Is everyone okay? What was that?"

Ken and Davis were the first ones off the floor and ran to the window to inspect what happened. Davis' mouth fell open, "Oh crap, not that thing again."

As the others came to look, Ken recoiled away in pain with his head clutched in his hands, " _He's here to wage his war and swallow us in dark. All will know his name. The world will praise him in fear and rejoice in trembling._ "

"Oh, cool, Ken does that too," Poromon commented, just as Kari shivered and spoke with a similar pained voice, " _Shun the light for it is false, embrace the dark and partake in communion. Beware the frailty of man, their will weak and mind young. Partake in communion and become one with the dark. For that is before the before and the only truth._ "

"Kari, snap out of it," Gatomon frowned, coming to join the others by the window, "What's wrong, what's doing this?"

Outside the window, just beyond the city harbor and illuminated by the lights was a large monster with dragon like wings and a head like an octopus. It bore down upon the city silently, saying nothing but already moving towards the shore. If it was tall enough in the water to make it look shallow, they didn't want to think about how big it really was.

* * *

"Is the concert over already?" Biyomon whimpered, "But it just started and we only got two songs!"

"It's not over, it looks like whatever company signed up to help run it isn't as good as they seemed," Taichi commented with a frown, "Oh man, that's not going to be good for the band."

"Aw, but I wanted to spend Christmas with you at the concert," Jun whined, "Why doesn't anything ever go to plan?"

"Does anyone else hear that?" Biyomon asked quietly. Taichi commented, "You mean the angry crowd that's about to riot? Yeah."

"No...something else. It's bigger," Biyomon remarked. Taichi scoffed, "It's just your imagina-"

Before he could finish his retort, part of the tent ripped open from the side and a giant black dinosaur with green spikes running down its back rampaged through, "Fire Blast!"

A blast of red hot fire rained down on the crowd, burning everyone caught in the blast and spreading through out the crowd. People ran in every direction away from the towering monstrosity, leaving them in a confused mess. Then Sora felt a hand grab hers. She turned to see Matt standing there with a scared look on his face, having run out towards her in the crowd as soon as the digimon had showed up. He was cut off by Taichi shouting, "RUN!"

And they ran with the crowd out of the tent as fast as they could while DarkTyrannomon growled and spat fire behind them. Biyomon looked back over her shoulder and panicked, "What's a digimon doing here?"

"I don't know, but we need to get somewhere safe so you can digivolve," Matt added, looking back to call for his partner, "Gabumon!"

"I'm right here," the little furry digimon shouted from somewhere behind them, "Keep running! Don't stop!"

"This way!" Taichi shouted at them as he led the way pulling Jun just behind him until they were off the beach and onto the street. They took shelter in an alley just down the street, where people on the street were looking in the direction of the concert with quiet curiosity. They each paused to catch their breath while Taichi peered out back around the corner, "What the hell was that?"

Jun looked back at Sora and Matt, "That's one of those digimon, right? What are they doing here? I thought you were supposed to stop them."

"They shouldn't be able to get here," Biyomon explained to them, "Not without a digivice! Like Davis or the others have."

"Tell them that," Jun thumbed back in the direction of the rampaging digimon. Taichi looked back at them, "What the hell are you guys talking about?"

Matt and Sora looked at each other, then at their partners who were still hiding beneath their hoodies. Both digimon looked at each other, nodding as if ready to reveal what Jun already knew but were stopped when another voice spoke behind them, "Hey Taichi."

They looked further into the darkened alley to see a man in a dark blue coat that his his face step out with a small body with vibrant green eyes and an orange ensemble. Taichi blinked, "Do I know you?"

The boy waved at the adult, "You can undo the spell now. It's safe with them."

The man snapped his fingers and the two's appearance faded like clouds to reveal an orange dinosaur and a wizard wearing a blues cape - Agumon and Wizardmon. Jun gasped in shock at their transformation, Biyomon blurting out, "What are you two doing here?"

Taichi's jaw practically hit the floor as Agumon approached him with a digivice in hand, "Don't freak out, but it's time to wake up."

 


	40. The Christmas Invasion

Davis led the the others out onto the street where panic had broken out as digimon ran loose. Some were low level rookies like Gotsumon and Otamamon who seemed more lost than malevolent while champion level digimon like Tyrannomom and Devidramon more freely destroyed anything in sight. The ghastly digimon from the Dark Ocean shambled their way down the street, croaking and groaning as they twitched with every step. Patamon gasped, "I don't get it. How did they get here?"

"I don't know but we'd better stop it! Are you ready guys?" TK asked, holding out his digivice. Their partners nodded and waited for the energy to take them but nothing happened. Patamon looked up at TK, "Nothings happening."

"What do you mean? You don't think...there's a control spire do you?" TK looked around the city. If there was a control spire, it'd be hard to tell with all the buildings around them. Davis took out his digivice and said, "Then we'll do this the old fashioned way! DigiArmor Energize!"

DemiVeemon turned his head, "Davis...I'm not Veemon right now."

"Crap," Davis spat out.

"Then we'll just have to do it," Gatomon cracked her knuckles, "Kari?"

"Y-yeah," Kari nodded, producing her digivice. Together, her and TK shouted, "DigiArmor Energize!"

"Patamon! Armor Digivolve to! Pegasusmon, Flying Hope!"

"Gatomon! Armor Digivolve to! Nefertimon, the Angel of Light!"

The champion digimon took to the air, using the confusion and panic to blend in as Devidramon roared past in the sky. As soon as they could see past the nearby buildings, Pegasusmon pointed out, "This is bad. There are control spires everywhere!"

"But how?" Ken asked, "They can't move on their own. They need...Arukenimon must've done this."

"Then are these digimon spire digimon?" Cody asked as one of the Divermon-like creatures shambled onto a person and sank its fangs into their neck. Davis was the only one not frozen by surprise, running straight at the digimon and tackling it off the poor victim, "Get off!"

"Davis!" DemiVeemon ran into help. Pegasusmon and Nefertimon has already gone to destroy as many spires as they could, hoping to give themselves a fighting chance if the rest of the digimon could digivolve past their in-training forms. The first few spires fell easily but it caught the attention of several of the Devidramon as the spires fell. However, this was enough for the others to finally digivolve to their champion forms. From there, ExVeemon and Stingmon DNA digivolved to Paildramon. It was just in time too as the Dark Ocean creature rounded on Davis with a growl, "Curse the child with fire in the heart. Know despair, for that is our art."

"Oh great, he rhymes now," Davis spat out.

"Desperado Blaster!" Paildramon roared as his guns trained themselves on the digimon. That blast alone was enough to kick the Divermon away, where he screamed in distorted agony before turning into a cloud of data. Cody's mouth fell open, "They're real digimon! But...why are they attacking?"

"Not all of them," Ankylomon pointed out a pair of Otamamon who had run for cover underneath a car, "It looks like some of them have no idea how they got here. We should-"

A gun shot caught their attention, and the digidestined spotted a large white van parked just across the street from them. Arukenimon sat in the driver's seat looking impatient as Mummymon stood beside an open door in the back with his large machine gun trained on them. From out of the van stepped a pale man in a long purple trench and ratty, unkempt black hair. He smiled at them, "Hello digidestined. I'm so glad to finally make your acquaintance. Well, most of you. Hello TK."

"You know that guy, TK?" Davis asked him. TK narrowed his eyes, "Maybe? He does look familiar. Who are you?"

"Apologies. We've only met a few times. I'm a colleague of your mother's. My name is Yukio Oikawa."

"That's right! You're the one who told her that Ken had vanished into the Digital World!" TK pointed at him, "What are you doing here and...what are you doing with them?"

"Oh, I don't have time to explain to you," Oikawa said, before he pulled a small hand gun from within his coat and pointed it at them, "Now. I don't want to have to start killing kids unnecessarily. Quite frankly, it's in all of our best interest ps that this dealt with. However, I'm going to need Ken Ichijouji, to please step into the van."

Ken rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I'm not doing that."

" _He's not going anywhere with you!_ That's right, you'll have to go through us!" Paildramon stepped in between them. Yukio smiled at the challenge, adjusting his aim to shoot at a passerby who fell as they were running past. The loud bang and the sudden death chilled them all, all while he smiled at them calmly. Then he trained his aim back at them, "Let me be more clear. I have no intention of harming you, but everyone else here is free game. Now, please get in the van."

At that, Mummymon raised his gun on them. At this close range, it didn't matter how fast their digimon moved - everyone of them would be ripped apart by a hail of gun fire that they wouldn't see coming. Realizing that he didn't want his friends to be in danger, Ken raised his hands above his head and nodded, "Okay, I'll go."

"Ken, are you crazy?" Davis snapped at the boy. Ken kicked him in the shin and said at just above a whisper, "Davis, I'm trusting you to get me out of this."

"What? Ken!" Davis began as Ken walked slowly into Oikawa's car. Oikawa smiled and patted the boy's head, "That's the spirit. Now then, children. It looks to me like you have a city to save so...good luck!"

He climbed back into the van and Mummymon slammed the door shut before leaping on to the roof. He used his wrappings to secure himself to the van and they took off so fast that a few people didn't have time to get out of the way and were run over as they drove past. Davis punched the sidewalk, "What the hell was that?"

"First the city gets invaded, then control spires show up, and now Ken get's kidnapped," Aquilamon grumbled and lowered himself for his partner, "I have no idea what's going on right now but I don't like it. We need to stop them! Yolei!"

"I'm climbing on," Yolei said as she mounted her partner's back. Davis had just gotten back onto his feet to join her when a blast of fire from above caught their attention as another group of digimon appeared above them - the first was SkullSatamon pointing his staff in their direction and growling at them. The second, TK and Kari recognized as a LadyDevimon from when they'd fought Piedmon. There was another one that reminded them of a cross between a squid and a Devimon. The final one wore a full length red robe with a hood that covered their face so that only a pair of red eyes like fire could be see. Two large horns poked out through holes on his hood, revealing the nature of this digimon to them. This new digimon looked down upon them and spoke with a deep voice, "Digidestined, know our-"

"DUDE! GET IN LINE!" Davis snapped at him and gestured around, "We have a city to save! We'll fight you guys after we're done with that stuff first."

The new digimon scoffed angrily, "Do you think you have any right to talk to me like that?"

Davis threw up his arms in frustration, "I don't know, do you think it's a good idea to interrupt us when we're in the middle of something? Y'know what? Screw it. I'm going to go save Ken."

He was about to stomp off after the van when the red robed digimon appeared in front of him, "Who was fool enough to take the Ichijouji away from me?"

Davis was so startled that he fell back on the sidewalk and landed on his butt, "Wha-? How? What are you?"

"Who took him?" the digimon pressed angrily. Paildramon pulled Davis back, "Leave Davis alone. The one you're after was some guy named Oikawa, and his lackeys Arukenimon and Mummymon."

The red robed digimon murmured something under his breath and looked back at LadyDevimon, "You three secure the child of light. I will secure Ichijouji."

"As you wish, Lord Daemon," LadyDevimon cackled as she descended towards Kari, "My, what a pretty face. It fits that incorruptible purity vibe you project onto others. Or it would, if you weren't so…utterly useless around the dark."

"Don't talk about Kari that way!" Nefertimon snapped from above. LadyDevimon laughed, "Or what? You'll hit me?"

"No, I will!" Aquilamon roared, ramming her from the side and slamming her into the wall of a nearby building. LadyDevimon seemed almost amused by the sudden attack, "What? Were you trying to hurt me? That's just sad. Here, let me show you how pain should feel."

She grabbed Aquilamon by his leg and spun him around in the air, crashing him through windows and buildings until she let him go so that he could fly down the street. Paildramon rushed in to take her next but SkullSatamon moved in his way, "Hey! Why don't you leave the lady alone!"

" _Please tell me that's not your voice,_ " Paildramon replied, "It's very…whiny."

"Why does everyone tell me that?" SkullSatamon asked before he slammed his staff straight into Paildramon's gut, knocking the wind out of the digimon before throwing him back down onto the concrete. SkullSatamon cackled in jubilation. Both Pegasusmon and Nefertimon went to fly to his aid but were swatted out of the air by the giant squid like Devimon, crashing onto the pavement with enough force to reveal the sewer line beneath it and regress them back to Patamon and Gatomon. Ankylomon positioned himself over them to guard them as the squid like Devimon came down to swat at them, using his tail to throw away its massive hand. It was just in time for Aquilamon to swoop in beside Gatomon, "I know you don't like it but…we should DNA Digivolve."

"Ye-yeah," Gatomon nodded, pushing herself back up and nodding at Kari and Yolei, "We're ready! Are you?"

Both girls answered by raising their digivices into the air so that their partners could merge. TK followed their lead and used his digivice to digivolve Patamon.

"Gatomon! Aquilamon! DNA Digivolve to! Silphymon!"

"Patamon! Digivolve to! Angemon!"

"Oh look at that, the bleach blonde bitch is a transvestite now," LadyDevimon mocked, SkullSatamon joining her side while Paildramon and Angemon lined up with Silphymon and Ankylomon. The two sides faced each other from opposite sides of the street, nothing but panic all around them until Davis called, "Kick their ass Paildramon!"

* * *

Taichi looked at the little orange dinosaur in disbelief, then pulled Jun behind him to keep her sage, "There's more of them! Look out!"

Agumon snorted and offered a claw, "Taichi, relax. I'm your friend."

"Like hell you are," Taichi spat at him, "I'll protect you Jun, stay behind me!"

"The memory loss is more effective than I would've thought," Wizardmon noted. Sora slid between Taichi and them, "Tai, wait! Agumon isn't like the others!"

"He's a talking dinosaur with a wizard! I'm pretty sure he's just like that big black lizard back there!"" Taichi retorted, before pausing, "Wait...did you just...how did you know his name?"

"I...we..." Sora stumbled over her words as she tried to explain before Agumon stepped out from behind her, "Maybe this will help you remember."

He showed Taichi a small white device, the digivice and Taichi felt a soft voice call to him. His voice, calling out to him but not by his name, " _We need to be whole again, Taichi. It's me. I am you. It's time._ "

Taichi froze, pointing at it suspiciously, "What...what is this? Is this a trick? Some kind of prank?"

"No...Taichi, it's you," Sora explained, "The real you. The Digimon Tamer."

"What are you talking about?" Taichi looked at her like she was crazy, stepping away slowly. He looked from her, to Matt, and finally to Agumon before pointing at them accusingly, "Is that what you two were going on about when we met?"

"Yeah," Matt ran a hand through his hair as he struggled to explain, "It was...you...he...Tamer is a jerk, so...sorry, about that."

Taichi shook his head and took hold of Jun's hand, "I knew it! You guys are crazy. I'm not listening to this. Jun, let's get out of here."

"No," Jun said quietly, staring at her own two feet quietly. Taichi looked at her like he'd been slapped and sensed something was wrong, "What? Jun, don't tell me you believe this. They're crazy!"

"They...they helped save me and my brother Davis years ago," Jun said sheepishly, gesturing at them, "And...Davis is like them. They...they helped stop all of this the last time it happened."

"What?" Taichi faltered as he saw his girlfriend taking their side, "Jun, don't-"

"Taichi," she put a hand to his chest, "The last time all of this happened...a lot of people died. A lot. Most of them kids. That can't happen again. Last time...these guys didn't do it on their own. There was someone else who helped. Well, two others. I want to believe they can do it on their own but...I also don't want to see anyone else die."

"Jun, you don't-" Taichi began but he was cut off when Jun pressed a finger to his lips. She snatched the digivice from Agumon's hand and handed it into his hands. In that brief moment, Taichi saw the briefest flash of someone else. Someone just like him but...different, confident with a stupid grin on his face but also tired and sickly. This was the person they thought he was. But that wasn't him. If he...was this person, what about Jun? For a moment, he was able to look past that vision and see only her, with her hand still on his chest, "I...I can't leave you."

She looked at him, just as lost as he was, "I don't want you to leave. But no matter how much I want you to stay...if things like this happen."

Jun paused, obviously trying to collect her thoughts, "I need you. But as long as this kind of thing happens, I think they need The Tamer more."

"He won't care about you! He won't love you," Taichi said desperately, hoping that Jun would stop this. Jun pressed her lips against his, and in that moment he knew what that meant. It was her good bye kiss to him. He liked kissing her, but it hurt more than words could express. When their lips finally parted, he noticed everyone there blushing except for Agumon who seemed to nod approvingly. Then she placed a hand on his face and added, "If he's not you, then I don't want him to. I love you, Taichi Yagami. Now go."

Taichi stood there, opening and closing his mouth as if to respond but unable to find the right words. In that moment of contemplation, he heard the screams of the people throughout the city and the rocking explosions as the city was taken by chaos. But all he cared about was Jun, and her happiness. But she was telling him to go. Eventually, he closed his eyes and found the strength to look at Agumon, "What do I have to do?"

"Just press that button there," Agumon pointed at the old device. He never thought pushing a button could be so hard.

Taichi was visited with fantastic visions of distant worlds of lush forests and beautiful cities shimmering in the light of a thousand suns. Then the memories came back, of people he'd met and things that he'd done. Agumon, his best friend and partner digimon in all of their adventures. The digidestined, their families, the digimon he'd saved across countless years. Finally, he saw the nightmares that lurked in the darkest corners of reality, the things that ate at the dreams of the terrified and the horrible things they had done. The horrible things he had done and would some day do. The visions ended with a final vision of him, alone upon a barren world where he would die.

And he became scared, shrinking away in terror of this awful vision and the person he was. The only comfort he took was on a hand placed on his shoulder by someone shorter than him, and younger. A child of probably no more than eight staring up at him, "Hey...don't be afraid."

"How can't I be? When this is what I am. When that's my future?" Taichi whimpered, "I'm going to die and I'm going to be...that. I...I don't want that! I don't want to die!"

"That's our future," the child replied, "And I wouldn't worry about it."

"What about Jun!?" Taichi demanded. The boy ran a hand through his hair, "I think she's going to be fine. We're both going to be okay."

The child seemed familiar somehow but he couldn't place it. But he nodded in understanding as the child disappeared into light. The child was him. He was that child. This was who he was. He didn't need to be afraid of any of that. He was The Digimon Tamer - the Last Ancient and the holder of the Crest of Courage. He smiled as the visions faded and he found himself standing in the alleyway again, staring straight ahead at Jun who looked back with misty eyes.

* * *

The first thing Sora noticed after the light faded was his eyes. They became tired, almost sickly right away. His smile was cheeky and had the same goofy smugness to it, but it seemed more forced. Like he was trying to not seem like something was wrong. Then she remembered what Wizardmon had said and wondered if this was what he meant. Was Tamer dying of old age? He was over a hundred thousand years old. It was hard to say how old he really was.

"Hello," Tamer began before pausing. His head began spinning with a powerful headache. Reality was wrong again. But that was nothing compared to the overwhelming need to gag, "Does...does anyone else taste that? What..what is that? Is...is that coconuts!? Agumon, you were supposed to keep me from eating any!"

"Technically, you drank it so that doesn't count," Agumon reasoned, "And it wasn't you, it was Taichi who did it. So who are you really mad at?"

"Right...so, what'd I miss? And why do I have a splitting headache?" Tamer choked out, rubbing his hand on his tongue to remove the horrible taste of coconut. Sora began, "There's digimon rampaging in Tokyo again, control spires have popped up all over the place, and there's a weird octopus-dragon-digimon blowing up the coast!"

"Dragomon?" Tamer asked, still rubbing his tongue, "I guess it was too much to hope that he'd give up on trying to get to me or Kari. So what about the corp?"

"Daemon is making a move to try and get to Kari, I think. Or Ken, one or the other. I'm not really sure," Agumon reasoned, "I was kind of in a rush to get here. What's the plan boss?"

"First, we have to take out the control spire," Tamer explained, leaning back and forth as he fought the terrible pain and using his other hand to gesture towards Gabumon and Biyomon, "That way they can digivolve. Then we worry about Dragomon and Daemon - more specifically, we stop them from getting to Kari and Ken respectively. One thing at a time."

"Is that a good idea?" Agumon asked nervously. Matt interrupted, "You've only been back a minute and you're already annoying me. What corp? Who's Daemon?"

"Long story, I'll tell you guys all about it later. Be ready to digivolve when that control spire is down," Tamer pointed ahead, "After that, you guys save as many people as you can. Agumon and I are going to take care of the Corp. If I know them like I do, they're going after Kari and Ken. Let's go buddy! Digiport Open!"

The two of them disappeared in a bright flash of light, leaving the rest of them behind in confusion. Wizardmon blinked, "Well, that was interesting. I wish they would've told me why I had to come, though. Agumon dragged me all the way over here and then ran off the moment things became interesting."

"Yeah," Jun replied quietly, holding her arm behind her back and gripping it tight. Sora put a hand on her shoulder, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah…yeah, I'm fine. I…I just need a minute," Jun's voice broke as she wiped her eyes. Sora frowned, offering the only thing she could, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Jun answered bitterly, looking away quietly as a distant sound of thunder caught their attention. They poked their heads out of the alley to see the nearby control spire reduced to a cloud of dust in dazzling display of fire, briefly catching the octopus dragon's attention before it turned back away towards the main city. Upon seeing that, Jun pushed the two of them out of the alley, "Go save the city."

"Will you be okay by yourself?" Matt asked her. She nodded quietly, brushing her hand against her eyes again, "Yeah, good luck."

"Alright then," Sora pointed her digivice at her partner and Matt did the same. With a great roar, their partners digivolved to their strongest forms - Garudamon and MetalGarurumon. The two climbed their partners and flew out over the city to stop the rampaging digimon present. Jun sighed as they left, still clutching at her arm with her eyes cast downward. Wizardmon tapped her shoulder, "If I may, I think it would be prudent if I took you home and away from this."

She jumped as she remembered the wizard was there and he chuckled, "Pardon. I didn't mean to startle you. However, I think the best thing I can do is help. So I thought I'd start by taking you back to your parents. Where are they?"

"Um…we live about ten blocks that way," she said sheepishly. Wizardmon tipped his hat, "Very well, then. I shall take you there."

He took a hold of her hand and snapped her fingers, leaving the street baron and empty.

* * *

Ken sat in the back of the van as it made its way through the traffic and panic that overwhelmed the streets. He could hear the screams of scared people and the sounds of rampaging digimon, wishing that he was able to do anything about it. Oikawa sat across from him with his gun trained on the boy with nothing but smiles, "I'm so happy you decided to come with us. It'll save us a lot of trouble. Yes, trouble. So much trouble."

Ken's eyes narrowed, trying his best to remain calm as he realized just how unhinged the man pointing the gun was, "What do you want with me?"

"Well, you see," Oikawa paused and looked off in the distance randomly before replying, "No, that's right. There'll be no questions from you tonight."

"What? Why not? You're the one who kidnapped me," Ken folded his arms, unimpressed with what he presumed was supposed to be a threat. Oikawa's smile remained amused, his gun still trained, "You should be happy that you're more valuable to me alive than dead. For now at least."

"Oh, so you do plan on killing me," Ken nodded, "Thanks for letting me know."

"I wonder how long it would take for you to bleed out if I shot you," Oikawa added, prompting Ken to remain quiet for the rest of the car ride. After what felt like an hour of listening to screams of terror, the van came to a stop and Arukenimon opened the door to let them out. They were at the docks in a part of the city he didn't recognize. Cargo holders surrounded him on every side, and Mummymon began pushing them around with ease to block any escape. In the meantime, Arukenimon gestured into the shadows as if to call something out. Ken watched the shadow she gestured at, expecting a digimon to emerge - presumably something from the Dark Ocean or another spire digimon. Instead, a group of about twelve children of varying ages stepped out of the shadows timidly, "Are we going to go to the Digital World now?"

"Not yet," Oikawa answered, retrieving a laptop from within the van and what looked like a barcode reader from a grocery store. Ken turned on Oikawa and demanded, "How do they know about the Digital World?"

Oikawa chuckled to himself, "The Digital World appeared in the sky above their heads years ago. How do you think they found out?"

"But what makes them think they're going to the Digital World?" Ken added, "Only digidestined with digivices can open gates between worlds!"

"Oh? And who told you that? Was it The Digimon Tamer?" Oikawa asked with a sinister smile. Ken froze at the sound of that name, alarmed that anyone would know who he was. Oikawa laughed at Ken's expression, "You see-"

He paused again for a moment before continuing, "It may be revealing my hand a little early but The Digimon Tamer is the kind of person who will lie and spread misinformation in the name of maintaining that stupid _status quo_ of his. What does he call it? Destiny? You'd know all about that wouldn't you, Ken? After all, you tried to bring your brother back."

"Ancient tech," Ken reasoned as he saw Oikawa begin typing into the computer, "You have access to Ancient technology! That has to be it. Arukenimon stole it for you, didn't she?"

"Oh, don't be so naive," Oikawa smiled, amused at his conclusion, "You're right, I do have Ancient Tech but you're wrong if you think that Arukenimon got it for me. It's like I said, the Digital World appeared above their heads not that long ago. Do you really think no one was doing anything about it? The British MI6, the American Central Intelligence Agency, the Chinese Ministry of State Security, the French Directorate-General for External Security, Burnt Leaf, take your pick. Every one of them have been looking into the Digital World and trying to find a way there. If you know where to look, the answer becomes very easy."

"That's impossible," Ken answered, "There's no one in the world who would have the technology to do that. Even if they did find a way to-"

Arukenimon slapped the back of his head and held his head down. The she parted the hair on the back of his head to expose his bare neck, pinning him to the ground with the same motion. Ken growled, "What are you doing?"

"Helping these kids get to the Digital World," Arukenimon answered, "Don't you think it's unfair that only you and the digibrats got to go when these poor, sweet kids didn't?"

"What are you playing at?" Ken demanded, watching Oikawa come his way with the barcode reader in his hand, "This isn't a responsibility I asked for. It's not one anyone should have to endure! What are you doing? Don't you are let these kids go through-AAARGH!"

Oikawa completely ignored him and pressed the barcode reader against the back of his neck. The second it beeped, Ken felt a sharp and terrible pain seize through his entire body. Arukenimon let him go, and he fell to the ground holding the back of his neck. Oikawa smirked approvingly, "Oh, you misunderstand. They're volunteering, Ken. _They_ want this. That's what you don't understand. So, children. Who would like to become a digidestined first?"

"Me!"

"No me!"

"I do!"

"I don't get it," Ken grunted from the ground, grunting in pain, "How are you going to make them digidestined? What do you get from making digidestined for yourself?"

"Didn't she just say? These poor kids wanted to go to the Digital World," Mummymon explained, "And we're just the good samaritans helping them along."

Oikawa went from child to child, pressing the barcode reader to the backs of their necks and pushing the button. Each child jolted, wincing in pain as Oikawa pulled the trigger but smiled as he finished his work. Once he finished, he smiled at the children, "There we go. How do you feel children?"

"I feel it," one said, looking at his hands, "I can feel energy."

"That's the power of the digidestined flowing through you," Oikawa explained, "It's weak now, but it will grow if you give it enough time. Soon, you'll have the power you need to enter the Digital World."

The children gasped excitedly as Oikawa ushered them back into the van, "Now, now. Let's take you back home children."

"What should we do with Ichijouji?" Arukenimon asked. Oikawa smiled, "We don't need him any more. Do what you'd like. Yes, do what you like. I said do what you'd like!"

"Are you okay?" Arukenimon asked with a raised eyebrow. Oikawa nodded, "Yes, yes. I just needed a moment. Do what you want with him."

"I do hope you don't mean to kill the boy," a deep, echoing voice spoke. Ken felt a cold chill run through his body, made worse when Arukenimon gasped and she let the boy go. Ken turned his head in time to see a tall man in red robes with leathery, bony wings extending from his back. Oikawa grumbled, "Hello, Daemon. If you would like to take Ichijouji off our hands, you're more than welcome to-"

"Don't play the fool with me, Oikawa," Daemon spoke, his piercing eyes glowing red with fire, "We both know what you intended to do to him, even after the deal we brokered."

"Technically, you brokered the deal with _Arukenimon_ ," Oikawa countered smugly, "But I see your point; not that it matters."

"Do you take me for a fool?" Daemon growled, spreading his wings wide as if to menace him.

"Well, have you seen the way you dress?" an annoying voice spoke that made Ken's ears grate, Oikawa scowl, Daemon grunt and Arukenimon gasp. Ken turned his head enough so that he could see none other than the Digimon Tamer himself leaning against one of the cargo containers with his arms folded - dressed in his familiar blue hooded long coat, a pair of goggles wrapped around his forehead and a cheeky smile, "I mean, I'm not criticizing the fashion sense - robes with hoods are basically the bread and butter of my people. But it's so not you. It's like you're posing! And is that really how you want to be seen? And you - Oikawa. Would it kill you to put some effort into your hair? It looks like you haven't bathed in…well, ever."

"Were you standing there the whole time?" Arukenimon asked disbelievingly.

"More to the point, did you really think it was a good idea to come here?" Daemon demanded.

"Or let me do what I just did?" Oikawa asked with a bemused smile. Tamer shrugged, "Meh, you would have killed me by now if you were going to. You're not going to harm Ken because he's too valuable. And you're all still letting me talk! Oh, while I remember!"

He stepped away from the wall and walked towards Arukenimon, circling her a few times with a hand to his chin. Eventually she demanded, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Hm? Oh, sorry," Tamer replied, finally stopping to apologize with a bow before flicking her hat off with his finger, "I was just distracted by the fact that someone with such a lovely appearance would destroy my Network. I put a lot of work into getting that to work. I ended up in the wrong place, got lost for a couple of months, and ended up fighting another monster from beyond time and space. So you better believe I'm upset."

Arukenimon looked back at Oikawa who shrugged in confusion, leaving her open to Tamer pulling a handful of hair from her head. She yelped in pain while he went on to examine it, "And Agumon filled me in on how you use your hair to make digimon out of control spires. I wonder if it works for me too? Spirit Needle! Hm, guess not. Oh well, that's a shame."

He threw the handful of hair away so that it scattered with the wind. Arukenimon pointed at him angrily, annoyed to have lost even more hairs, "Listen here you little-"

"If you're worried about your hairs, don't," Tamer interrupted, "Your hair's all gray, which means you're old. So that makes it okay to have thin hair. Or any at all, for that fact. You should be proud."

Insulted, Arukenimon went to wrap her hands around Tamer's neck but stopped when Oikawa scolded her, "Don't play into his games, Arukenimon. Speaking of which - why are you here? You never answered."

Tamer smiled from ear to ear as he explained, "I thought the answer to that would've been obvious - you kidnapped Ken. I like Ken. I mean, yeah he threw me in a closet, turned Agumon into a killing machine, and perverted my people's technology. But you know how kids are - what a little rascal. I wasn't so different when I was his age. Stole a ship and crashed it into Lucemon's library. That was a fun day. Where was I going with this? Oh yeah. Kidnapping Ken. You can't do that."

"Yet you let us," Oikawa pointed out, trying to ignore Daemon's comment, "Even though you agreed to give us Ichijouji."

"I meant in a legal sense," Tamer pointed out, "I mean, he's eleven and you're thirty. Plus you did it with a gun in public. That looks weird no matter how you try to spin it. Kinda like Etemon that one time in the pyramid. Ah, memories. Right, where was I? Sorry, old age is making me forgetful."

"Forgetful's not the only thing," Arukenimon spat out, as Tamer tapped his chin. Then he remembered, "Oh, that's right. This!"

Ken realized what he'd been doing and closed his eyes just in time. Tamer held out his digivice and temporarily blinded them, before pulling Ken up and shouting, "RUN!"

They took off at a sprint out of the cargo containers and down the docks as they heard Daemon roar out in anger behind them. Ken didn't dare look back but did take the time to scold Tamer, "It's about time you showed up!"

"I've been getting that a lot, yeah," Tamer replied, looking back once to see Daemon flying on his wings after them. He smiled and grabbed a hold of Ken, aiming his digivice just ahead of him, "Digiport Open!"

A tear opened in front of them through which he could see another part of Tokyo. Together, the two leapt into the gate and emerged out onto a busy street where terrified screams filled the air as digimon continued to rampage out of control. Seeing this sight brought back many bad memories for Ken - memories of his family's day out in the city being interrupted by a thick fog, followed by screams. A closer inspection made him realize they were in Akihabara - the normally busy section of the city was now ruined by the digimon rampaging through. All of this made Ken ask a simple question, "Aren't you going to do anything about this?"

"I am! I'm getting _you_!" Tamer looked back with a smile, "First we have to get you back to the others and then I have to deal with him."

He pointed back at Daemon who flew at them while growling angrily. Seeing this made Ken ask, "Where's WarGreymon?"

"He's busy. Don't worry, he'll meet up with us in a second," Tamer said as they ran past a store whose window was smashed open. Tamer slid to a stop in front of that store and retrieved a toy sword from a smashed display. Ken stopped, "That thing's plastic! What are you planning on doing!?"

"Baseball!" Tamer smiled, spinning on heels and swinging at Daemon with all his might. A crack followed as the sword broke in half with Daemon grabbing a hold of Tamer and throwing him full force into the store. Ken panicked, "Tamer!"

"I wouldn't concern yourself with him," Daemon growled, stepping towards Ken. He reached out to grab Ken, "We've been looking for you for some time Ken Ichijouji."

* * *

The digidestined watched in stunned disbelief as their partners were barely able to scratched their opponents - Paildramon traded blows with SkullSatamon to no avail, with neither able to truly get an edge over the other. Silphymon and LadyDevimon's fight attracted a bit more attention than it should from people and digimon alike as the two pulled hair and threw fists at each other. Kari scowled, "Why does this always happen whenever LadyDevimon shows up?'

"Men," Yolei sighed in disbelief. Meanwhile, Angemon and Ankylomon were doing their best to injure MarineDevimon to no avail. The monster was simply too large to be threatened by anything either of the two could throw at him. Cody frowned, seeing the two digimon run circles around MarineDevimon to distract him from the fact there were only two of them. He looked at TK nervously, wondering what he was doing wrong that neither Ankylomon nor Angemon were able to DNA digivolve with each other. It was his fault, wasn't it? This was his punishment for how he'd treated Ken. He deserved that much - but it meant so many more we're going to suffer because of him. So many people were going to die needlessly because of his own helplessness.

"It'll be alright," TK smiled, placing a helping hand on his shoulder, "We've got this!"

"Our partners can't even DNA digivolve like the others! How can you be so optimistic?," Cody spat out, frustrated at his own failings. Ken had somehow been able to be kind to him when he could barely give Ken the same compassion. Was that why he and TK were unable to get their partners to DNA digivolve? Was he the one holding TK and Armadillomon back?

"I have hope," TK explained, "Things look bad, but we can still do something about it as long as we keep trying. Let's focus on taking out MarineDevimon! And then we can go from there. Your dad was a cop right? What would he do?"

Cody paused, seeing where TK was going with his argument and replying, "He would try to help out anyway that he could."

"Then let's not waste any time," TK nodded. Cody envied TK's optimism and willingness to keep going no matter what. He would have admired it more if he didn't hear a soft drumming in his ears - a heart beat. It was only then that he noticed digivice resonated with TK's to create a bright light that wrapped around their partners, "Ankylomon! Angemon! DNA Digivolve to! Shakkoumon!"

The white light faded to reveal a large silver shakoki-dogu doll, made of metal instead of clay and with large wings growing from its back. Gold lined the trim of the digimon's various parts, completing the mechanical look as it rotated its arms and legs robotically and rhytmically. MarineDevimon faltered for a moment when Shakkoumon appeared, but recovered enough to bring one of his tentacles down to attack Shakkoumon. His tentacle bounced right off its large metal body and he howled in pain at the attack. Shakkoumon wasted no time seizing on the opportunity to grab MarineDevimon's full body, throwing him down the street and onto the pavement. Several cars and street lights were crushed underneath his large body, with several people escaping only because they moved inside buildings to get out of the way.

"Be careful Shakkoumon!" Cody shouted, "We don't want to hurt any innocent people or digimon."

"Right, sorry," Shakkoumon said as MarineDevimon pushed himself back up. MarineDevimon readied to fight back just in time to hear a loud boom behind him, turning around in time to see an orange figure in golden armor charging from behind and through his head. MarineDevimon's body twitched for a second, a large gaping hole in the center of its skull, before it burst into a cloud of data.

Shakkoumon, TK, and Cody tried to follow the orange blur as it moved on to the next target - SkullSatamon. The skeletal digimon barely had enough time to look over his shoulder before he was sliced in half, screeching out in pure pain before turning into data. Paildramon and Davis both stood with shock, unable to believe that anyone could destroy their foes so easily. The orange blur came to a stop in the air to examine its surroudings - the Mega level digimon WarGreymon. Paildramon flew towards him, " _WarGreymon! Is that you? Quick, you have to help us! Ken's been-_ "

Before he could finish, WarGreymon darted off towards LadyDevimon and Silphymon. The two's fight had managed to stop all the panic and terror on their side of the street as everyone stopped to watch. The fight only broke up when WarGreymon darted in the middle of the and demon, pushing them away from each other. He pointed a warning finger at LadyDevimon, "This is your one warning. Leave now."

" _WarGreymon!"_ Silphymon spat out, "What are you doing? _Where's Tamer?"_

Kari's mouth fell open the moment she saw him standing there, appearing once again to help them when they really needed it. Of course, that only made her mad when she thought of all the times they need him, "WarGreymon!"

She was drowned out by LadyDevimon mocking, "Great, you're here. I can only assume that means the Digimon Tamer is prancing around somewhere. Oh my, I'd better go help Lord Daemon!"

She darted away and WarGreymon gave chase after her. Silphymon stared at them blankly, "Well that just happened. _We need to go after him!_ Why? _He knows where Tamer is!_ "

"That's all the reason I need," Kari said excitedly, trying her hardest to hide the smile forming on her face. Before Yolei could rebuff her, Silphymon landed beside them and scooped up the two girls - then leapt after WarGreymon. Paildramon did the same with Davis, with Shakkoumon barely able to bend over enough to pick up TK and Cody. They pursued WarGreymon and LadyDevimon further into the city, passing block after block of panicked humans running from a mix of frenzied and lost digimon. LadyDevimon took her time to mock them as she fled, "What do you think you're going to do? Stop me from killing Tamer? Ha! By now, Lord Daemon probably already has Ichijouji!"

"Over my dead body!" WarGreymon shouted back.

"That's the plan," she mocked him.

" _WarGreymon! Slow down!"_ Paildramon shouted after him.

"I think you should listen to them," LadyDevimon pointed out with a smile, "After all, don't you think they need your help more than-"

She was stopped by a sudden and blinding flash of bright light from the street level below. WarGreymon took this chance to grab a hold of her and dive straight for the ground, slamming her into the pavement and leaving her there. Once he'd collected himself, he expected to see Tamer standing there with a smile and his digivice out. Then his heart sank when he saw Ken who'd shone the light. Daemon stood beside him, commenting, "Congratulations, you've knocked out LadyDevimon. I hope you're proud of yourself."

"Where's Tamer!?" WarGreymon demanded. Ken ran to his side and explained, "Daemon threw him into that store."

At that exact moment, Tamer leapt out of the store with his knee extended in front of him - striking Daemon in the face and staggering him for Tamer to start strangling him from behind. He looked Ken's way and smiled, "Ken, we're leaving the rest up to you guys. You know what to do! You're the one who hijacked our tech after all! Good luck. Digiport Open!"

He pointed his digivice behind him and opened a tear in the store window. Light shone and winds roared as the tears tried to suck everything in. Silphymon arrived with Kari and Yolei, letting both girls go so that Kari could run to her brother's side, "TAI!"

"Lord Daemon!" LadyDevimon shouted out, trying to pull herself out of the pavement and reaching an arm towards her lord. Reminded that she was there, Shakkoumon blasted the digimon with a beam of red energy.

Neither Tamer nor Daemon had any time to react to her defeat, as WarGreymon charged Daemon - pushing him and Tamer into the gate. Just as WarGreymon passed through it, the gate closed behind them. Kari tried running towards the gate only to find nothing. Kari turned to Ken with fire in her eyes, screaming in angered panic, "What did he say? What did he say!?"

Ken had never seen her so angry and was certain she was probably the most terrifying thing at this moment. He would have gladly taken hearing Kimeramon's voice again over this and only barely managed to stutter out, "He said he was leaving the rest to us. I assume he meant he wanted us to send the remaining digimon back. I don't know how he expects us to do that, though."

"We have to open a gate and send them all back," Cody said, "That's what we're supposed to do, right?"

"Yeah, but how? We're not going to find every one of them!" Davis panicked, "This place is crawling with digimon, and I don't think they all want to go back."

"They don't get a say in the matter and besides, I have an idea," Ken produced his digivice and began flipping through the various settings, "Don't forget, we can use these to track digimon within our area. There's no reason to think it won't work in the Real World."

"Oh, so it's like a game of hide and seek but with cheating!" Paildramon declared, "Like when you open your eyes while counting! _That's very specific ExVeemon._ No it isn't, it was just the first thing that came to mind. _Then why do I see memories of you peeking?_ "

"I knew it! There's no way anyone could find us that fast!" Silphymon growled. Cody snapped at them, "Focus guys! There are digimon loose all around the city and lives are at stake! Let's round up as many of them as we can and get them to safety!"

"Before we do anything about that, we should probably do something about the giant octopus digimon we saw out in the bay," TK reminded them of the sight that had brought them all out onto the street, "We know it's after Kari and Ken. Daemon and those other digimon said that much. Who knows what it'll do if gets to either of them."

"I have an idea," Ken answered as he massaged the nape of his neck where the pain was. One other thing jumped out at him though - the bump that he'd felt there was gone now. This wasn't the time for him to dwell on his hygiene though. He explained, "Oikawa wanted something from my neck. And he copied it into a bunch of other kids. It's probably what Daemon and that thing from the Dark Ocean are after."

"Wait, that was the digimon from the Dark Ocean?" Cody asked in disbelief, "But that thing's massive."

"And that's also the thing that Tamer changed himself for," Shakkoumon added, "I sort of see why he ran. Which means he's going to go down hard. Nothing we could throw at him would hurt him. Even WarGreymon was only able to knock him back, and it seemed to annoy him more than anything else."

"He doesn't look so tough. We'll stop him, right Kari?" Davis looked at her, hoping to get a cheer from her but only finding a blank stare looking back at him. She was probably lost in thought about her brother again, and realizing that discourage him but not enough to make him back down. He tightened his fists and looked at Paildramon, "Let's go out there and get him!"

 


	41. A Digidestined's Responsibility

MetalGarurumon and Garudamon hit the horrific monster of a digimon with everything they had, trying to halt its advance across the bay. Their attacks seemed to hurt it as it recoiled from every attack and stepped backwards - but it always recovered quickly and continued pressing forward towards the city. No matter how many rockets they launched, or fire they used to burn it, the creature always advanced onward. Sora and Matt tried messaging the others for help but it seemed they were all caught up in their own problems at that moment. Joe was busy trying to keep digimon out of his neighborhood and Izzy was suffering from some weird computer problem that required his full attention. He even asked them to come help him as soon as they were done, as if a computer problem was more important than an invasion. Sora and Matt were resigned to being unable to stop this monster when Paildramon and Silphymon joined the scene.

"Desperado Blaster!"

"Static Force!"

Their combined attacks knocked the massive digimon back a step but that wasn't enough to stop its ever encroaching advance on the city. At least, that was how it seemed until Shakkoumon appeared to ram the digimon as hard as he could, pushing the digimon onto its back and into the water. It disappeared for a second beneath the surface of the waves, but any relief they could've gained was lost when a large tentacle reached out from the water and tried to drag Shakkoumon under. Paildramon and Silphymon grabbed on to him, dragging him back upward with all their might while Garudamon and MetalGarurumon did what they could to sever the tentacle. When it became clear that this was not enough, Sora tried the only thing she could think of - using her digivice and pointing it straight down at the tentacle. As if reacting on its own, a brilliant and dazzling display of white light shone out - hurting the tentacle and injuring the monster for the first time since it appeared. It released Shakkoumon and let the digimon put distance between them as it sank further into the water. That alone was enough to surprise Sora, "The digivice hurts it!"

"Then it's a good thing the others are here too!" Silphymon shouted, pointing back to the sandy beach where what remained of Matt's concert lay in a ruined mess. The six younger digidestined were assembled there, watching the fighting from afar. TK asked, "What happened? Did we win?"

"No, but I think we found a way to hurt it!" Sora raised up her digivice, "The light from our digivices! It doesn't just blind this thing. It hurts it! Actually hurts it!"

"Are you sure?" Davis asked disbelievingly, "Because if you're not, we'll get flattened the second we point our digivices at him!"

"Well, we don't have long to find out. Look!" Paildramon caught their attention to point out the darkened figure of the octopus headed digimon coming their way again. Yolei moaned out in disbelief, "That guy was taking his sweet time getting here and now he's rushing at us full speed! What gives?"

"It's probably because Ken and I are here," Kari shook quietly, "He's after us!"

"Who knows why though," Ken grunted, feeling the cold chills grow stronger down his body as the imposing digimon grew closer. Kari trembled with every step it took closer, her lips moving frantically but she seemed to holding her breath to keep any noise from coming out. Davis looked like he was about to say something to her, but Sora was the first one to put a hand on her shoulder, "It'll be alright."

TK added his own encouragement, "Yeah, we've beaten worse - the Dark Masters, Apocalymon, Myotismon. At least those guys weren't afraid of day light. Any time we've fought this guy, it's been foggy or dark. So really, he's like an uglier Myotismon."

"He is the darkness that came from before the beginning and will persist after the light of creation fades," Kari replied at a whimper, shaking her head and clutching at it between her hands in terror of the words that had just come out of her mouth. She sank to her knees and fell to the ground in a panic, scared out of her mind and unable to operate. Silphymon wanted to go to her partner's aid but it was too late now. The horrific digimon was upon them now, reaching for Kari with its tentacled hand. Davis was the first one to hold up his digivice, releasing a blinding bright light at the terror moving towards Kari. TK, Matt, Yolei, Sora, and Cody joined him next while their digimon began attacking with everything they had. The digimon stopped for a moment, letting out a terrific screech that deafened them before it continued on towards Kari. Silphymon stopped her attack to protect her partner only to find herself brushed aside, " _No_."

Her body glowed with a soft white light that pierced through the darkness around them. Kari found the strength to stand back up and step towards the dark digimon, standing in front of everyone and that monster " _You know my name - I am the thing you hate the most. The power that shakes you and drives you to madness. I am the light that pierces the dark and I drive you away!_ "

A column of light shot out of her hand, throwing the digimon back and burning the parts of its body it touched. Everyone stood there with their mouths hanging open in surprise at what must've been another of the many surprises this day had in store for them. Kari turned to face Davis and Ken, " _You two are the chosen by The Digimon Tamer. I impart this power to you to help drive back this darkness._ "

"Kari, what are you talking about?" Davis demanded of the girl, Yolei holding her shoulder, "Yeah, what gives?"

"I don't think that's Kari," Silphymon said, " _You're that one thing from before. The one that took over Kari the last time we went to the Digital World…Homeostasis or whatever_?"

" _Correct_ ," Kari nodded. Sora was the first to ask, "Why are you here? What happened to-"

Kari held up a finger to interrupt Sora, before continuing, " _Allow me to be quick and concise. I dare not interfere too long lest I draw unwanted attention. The boundary between worlds is damaged horrifically due to BlackWarGreymon's destruction of the Destiny Stones. Many of us are working to keep Reality from crumbling. I've come to lend you just a little bit of my power, that it may aid you in your trials to come. Farewell digidestined and good luck._ "

"Wait, what's going on!?" Davis demanded, still confused by what he was being told. Before he could get his answer, the light separated itself from Kari and shot towards Paildramon while she slipped into unconsciousness and into Silphymon's arms. The moment the light merged with Paildramon it swallowed him whole and he cried out, "Paildramon! Digivolve to! Imperialdramon!"

The digimon partner of Ken and Davis grew into a several story blue dragon dressed in black armor with gold accents and white trim. Wings grew from the base, joining together on his back to create a large cannon like weapon. The new dragon was almost large enough to match the octopus digimon in size. Then the cannon primed itself with white light, and fired a beam of straight at Dragomon, "Positron Laser!"

The blast of bright energy struck Dragomon before he could get upright from Kari's attack. The monster cried out in anger before retreating away, gurgling and gesturing at the digidestined before it disappeared into the depths of the water. Davis was the only one cheering while Cody asked, "Do you really think we won?"

"I doubt it," Shakkoumon sighed, "He may have left, but we don't know if he'll even have a way back to his world. For all we know, he'll just come back."

" _Forget about him! Is Kari okay?_ " Silphymon asked, finally returning her attention to her unconscious partner. Sora placed a hand on her head, making sure that she was still breathing before saying, "I think so. She was okay last time."

"Well I'm taking her home," Silphymon said, helping to scoop up the girl in its arms and looking back at the others. Davis nodded, "You do that. We'll clean up this mess in the city and send as many of these digimon back to our world as possible. Take care of her."

* * *

The digidestined regrouped in Kari's apartment after a lengthy night of tracking down rogue digimon to send back to the Digital World, and Dark Ocean digimon to defeat. Both of Kari's parents were up all night at her side as she lay on the couch, still out cold from the events of the night and her sudden possession by the entity Homeostasis. Gatomon rested at the foot of the couch, curled up quietly while Hawkmon minded his distance in the corner of the living room. Having everyone pile into their tiny apartment led to it being cramped, filling Sora with the weirdest sense of deja vu, "Never thought I'd see us crammed into Kari's apartment again."

"Just promise me you won't blow this one up," Kari's mom frowned, her dad turning his head in disbelief, "Wait, is that what happened!?"

"I'm going to message Izzy and Joe so they know where to find us," Matt said grumpily, "I get why Joe couldn't help - he was busy helping his dad. But Izzy picked a bad night to focus on a computer problem."

Davis looked at Kari sheepishly, then at Ken - expecting the former genius to have some kind of idea of what to do but was met with the same concern that he saw staring back. Everyone just collapsed onto the chairs or the floor from exhaustion - eventually asking to borrow the only phone to call their parents to let them know they were okay. Her dad, flustered by all the people suddenly barging into his home on Christmas Day decided to turn on the television - only to be reminded of why they were all here in the morning news.

"-ports continue to pour in from sources across the globe of monster sightings similar to the events of the Odaiba Incident several years ago. From metropolitan centers like New York and Paris to rural China and even isolated Aztec temples in Mexico - monster sightings continue with no end in sight. World militaries have set up quarantine zones in these areas and are evacuating civilians away from the monsters. Tensions remain high as militaries across the globe deploy to meet the new threat, with some engagements already reported in the United States and China. Even in our own city of Tokyo, Christmas Eve became a night of terror as monsters were sighted in Odaiba, Shinjuku, Oifutu, Akihabara, and Yamato."

The reporter on screen cleared his throat to add, "On top of these reports are claims of middle school and elementary school aged children seen running around to collect these monsters. Although none of these reports have been confirmed at this time, parents are reminded to keep their children indoors and away from the isolated areas."

Cody sighed, "All that work and there are still more digimon!?"

"Man, how did Arukenimon and Mummymon get all those digimon all over the place!?" Davis groaned in frustration. Ken put a hand to his chin, "It might not have been them. Remember Musyamon? The damage to the border between worlds was extensive. For all we know, this is just like Musyamon on a grander scale. And maybe Dragomon going from the Dark Ocean to here made things worse."

Veemon shrugged, not entirely sure what Ken's explanation meant, "How are we shupposhed to even get there? It'sh not like we can jusht keep buying ticketsh!"

"We could use the Network if it were still around," Wormmon frowned sheepishly. Patamon shook his head at that point, "Yeah, so what? Should we just fly from place to place? Forget that! That could take weeks or months!"

"Even if we split up, this could take forever to fix!" Yolei grumbled, looking down at the television as more and more images displayed of digimon from across the globe. She massaged her temple and looked at Ken while recalling, "And we still have to figure out what that creep Oikawa wanted."

"He did something with a barcode reader on the back of my neck," Ken massaged it, noticing that the lump Joe's dad had found was no longer there. He ran his hand up and down it, trying to feel for it before asking his partner, "Wormmon, check my neck. Is that bump thing gone?"

Wormmon crawled up his side to rest on his shoulder and parted his hair, "Yeah, it's gone. What happened? You think it had something to do with Oikawa?"

"I do," Ken answered quietly, recalling his adventure with Tamer several years in the past and the pain when Apocalymon's spores struck the back of his neck, "He took the barcode reader to the necks of other kids after he was done with me but didn't say why. Then he drove off with a van of them."

"He had a van full of kids?" Kari's dad looked back in disbelief, "I don't...we need to call the police and report this! He could-"

Matt folded his arms quietly and stated the obvious, "What can the police do? They have their hands full with all this after what happened last night. An army of digimon just showed up in Tokyo on Christmas. There could be hundreds of kids who are missing or hurt. The ones Oikawa had would just be lost in all the confusion and mess. As much as I think we should help those kids, those digimon are a bigger problem."

"But what are we going to do to stop it?" Upamon asked, "It's like Yolei said, it would take forever to get from one place to the next."

At that exact moment, both Joe and Izzy threw the door open as they ran into the apartment with Gomamon and Tentomon following just behind them. The noise was so loud that it made Kari jump awake in shock. Gatomon immediately leapt into hug her partner while Tentomon implored his, "Izzy! You can't just go running into people's homes like that! It's rude!"

"Sorry for the intrusion! May I please come in," Izzy panicked as he ran inside. He slid to a halt in the living room, opening his mouth to say something and then fell backwards as he tried to catch his breath. Joe commented about him needing to work out more, before he too collapsed from exhaustion. Tentomon bowed his head and apologized, "I'm sorry about all of this. Izzy's been excited since last night and hasn't stopped talking about it. He's not himself."

"And Joe's tuckered out after helping his dad out," Gomamon bowed his head apologetically. Kari looked around the room in surprise, "What happened? Did we win?"

"Yeah, we won," TK placed a hand on her shoulder, "And you helped to give the knock out blow."

She shot him a confused look with a raised eyebrow, unsure of how to interpret his hand on her shoulder. Davis and Cody both helped Izzy up, while Joe preferred to stay on the floor so that he could rest his eyes for a moment. Seeing the state he was in, Cody asked the question they were all thinking, "So what's going on Izzy? Why are you all sweaty and why'd you run over here all of a sudden? You're not going to tell us there's another digimon destroying the internet, are you?"

"No," Izzy gasped opening his bag to get his laptop and opening it up, "Well, maybe, I don't know. I came over here because of this."

After a few keyboard presses, Izzy opened a chat program that sprang to life with video feeds of different kids all staring back with only confusion on their faces. Nothing about that would have been abnormal if the kids didn't also have digimon on screen with them, making every one of the digidestined gasp in disbelief. One of the kids, a dusty blonde boy with glasses blinked when he saw them all, "So, are these the others you were talking about Izzy?"

"Huh, he speaks Japanese," Yolei blinked upon hearing that, "Wait, is he in Japan?"

"No, he is from America," another girl spoke, "And I am from Russia. So you are the Japanese children we've heard Izzy talk about."

"Okay, so is anyone going to catch me up on what's going on?" Kari asked, looking at everyone in confusion while Gatomon answered, "You got knocked out, I took you back here, the others went out and caught all the digimon, then met up back here to check on you, then Izzy and Joe ran in with Tentomon and Gomamon. That's when you woke up."

"Okay, that didn't help explain what's going on. Who are those kids on the computer?" was Kari's second question.

"I'm hurt that you'd forget all about me," Mimi frowned from her own video feed with Michael looking just over her shoulder. Palmon and Betamon were in the background waving happily, while Michael added, "It is weird that you guys are speaking English now."

"We're all speaking our own language," Izzy explained, "It's...weird. Some kind of program that was in the database Tamer put on my computer is running in the background that's doing a bunch of auto-translations so we're all hearing each other in our own language. If that makes sense."

"It really doesn't," Gabumon sighed.

"He talks like that a lot," said a Chinese boy wearing an apron.

"Okay, so who are they?" Matt pointed at the screen, "And why do they have their own digimon?"

"Wow, some help you guys are," a little girl about Cody's age pouted, "Tamer said we should call this person if we ever had any problems, but you're kinda mean. Can you put the nice one with red hair back on?"

Matt cringed when he was called mean, annoyed but unwilling to get into a fight with a little girl. Izzy cleared his throat and began, "This is the reason I couldn't help you guys last night. I suddenly got calls from all over the world on my computer - and every single one was from another kid with their own digimon partners. They're digidestined like us and they all had the same story - they met Tamer some time ago, traveled together, and were told to call me if they ever needed help. And yes, that is as stupid as it sounds. I've gotten calls from Russia, America, France, England, China, Vietnam, India, Mexico, Australia. They're coming in from everywhere! And they were all told to call if they needed our help."

"Okay, what?" Sora said blankly, trying to process all this, "What...just why?"

"Look, we're just as confused as you are," the Russian girl said, "Can you help us or not?"

"We can but we're not sure how," Yolei chimed in, "We were just talking about how we were going to get to you guys when Izzy showed up."

"Yeah, which is the second reason I came over," Izzy said, going back to his computer to open another file, "This video filed got emailed to me from...well, the last time I got a message from this email it said 'Wish Granted' and our partners showed up on the internet. You guys need to see it for yourselves."

He pressed play and a new video file came on screen, showing a frantic and distressed Tamer dressed in only his black long sleeved shirt. The boy adjusted his goggles and began in as calm a voice as he could manage, "If you've received this message, then it's because the barrier between worlds are either gone or at a point of collapse that Agumon and I can't do anything about on our own. By now, you've either contacted the email you were given or you're Izzy and you've just been bombarded with a bunch of messages all at once. In that case...well, sorry Izzy. I hope this makes up for it."

Izzy clicked his tongue angrily at the half hearted apology while Mimi grumbled, "Some help you are, Tamer."

"I heard that Mimi," Tamer remarked, catching Mimi off guard, "Wait, I thought you said it was video file, Izzy!"

"He did," Tamer answered before she could rebuff him, "Never mind that because we've got serious problems right now."

Mimi blinked, unsure of what to make of it, "How can you know wha-"

"Stop interrupting me, Mimi," Tamer said just as Izzy commented, "This makes a lot more sense the second time around. Here, see."

Izzy pressed a button to rewind the video several seconds then let it continue playing. Tamer said again, "-serious problems right now...Stop interrupting me, Mimi. Izzy, don't rewind me again."

"I can't believe this," Gatomon said from Kari's lap, her mouth hanging open as Tamer continued, "Matt, Sora, stop making out! There's no time for that."

Both Matt and Sora went red in the face while Tamer paused, "Unless you two aren't together yet. Then ignore what I said and pretend you didn't hear that."

"I'm going to deck him," Matt growled between his teeth, while Sora resorted to covering his face with her hands. Yes, she had given him a small kiss on the cheek last night but how could he have known that? Still, Tamer continued.

"So, in the event that boundary between worlds starts to collapse, there are a couple of fail safes in place to prevent a total event collapse: The Destiny Stones, the Sovereigns, I'm pretty sure one of the Ethereals will show up if things gets too bad. The Sovereigns will use their power to repair the boundary between worlds from their side on the Digital World. And if that's not enough, then there's the last resort: you. If those boundaries are still open, then digimon are going to start slipping through between the cracks. You guys will have to help as many digimon get back to their side before they shut permanently."

"So, what are you going to do in all of this?" Michael asked from behind Mimi. Tamer ran a hand through hair nervously, "Dealing with a very, very angry Dragomon and his creepy friends. Seriously, one of them is called Creepymon. Fitting name if you ever meet it. Sharp teeth, pouty lips, surprisingly good kisser. Where was I? Oh yeah! Odds are, they're going to try and take advantage of all the confusion to invade your world. Agumon and I are going to go put them in their place. Also, your world is full of all kinds of people who want to go to the Digital World for some reason and that can't happen. So I'll be busy making sure they don't take any more advantage of the situation."

"You mean like Oikawa?" Ken asked. Tamer winked at them, "Transportation is going to be your biggest problem but you guys should have Imperialdramon by now. He can basically circumnavigate the world several times in about a five minutes. So use him, meet up with the others, and save as many digimon as possible. Guys…sorry, I should clarify - Sora, Matt, Mimi, Izzy, Joe, TK, Kari, Ken, Davis, Yolei, Cody, Biyomon, Gabumon, Palmon, Tentomon, Gomamon, Patamon, Gatomon, Wormmon, Veemon, Hawkmon, and Armadillomon. You guys…look, I'm sorry I haven't been very forthcoming here. To be honest, a hundred thousand years of secrecy and subterfuge make for a lot of bad habits that are really hard to break. But, you've got this. You guys helped beat a nightmare monster from beyond time and space. So what's sending a few digimon back to their world? Between each of you, you've the experience and resources you need to come out on top. I'm not going to say good luck, because you don't need it. Go get 'em."

For a moment, only a moment, Tamer did seem solemnly apologetic. He also seemed ill, as if he were ready to collapse. Still he managed a smile, and winked at them before the video ended. Izzy closed out the file and explained, "The video ends there."

"Boy, no pressure on us. Huh?" Gomamon added coyly, "So…what are we waiting for? It looks like we've got our work cut out for us."

"Hold the phone there," Kari's dad snapped, "My son was just on that screen! What the hell was he talking about? What was up with all that crap?"

"We'd explain it to you if we understood, trust us," Sora answered sheepishly, only vaguely following the video herself. They had to help the world. There was no denying that. Joe perked his head up and answered, "The whole world is in trouble and we have to get out there and help bring as many digimon home as we can."

Sora nodded, "Okay, then we'd better get to work to help out who we can."

"Did anyone else think Tai didn't look…right?" Kari asked anxiously. TK countered by pointing out, "The guy's hundreds of thousands of years old. How do we know how he's supposed to look."

"Can we hurry up and go?" Davis said impatiently, "The world needs saving and we're just standing around talking."

"It sounds like a plan to me. We'll meet up with each other here in Moscow and wait for you guys to show up," the Russian girl said. Michael and Mimi smiled together, "Then we'll round up as much of the American digidestined as we can. We're in New York City, by the way."

The other children on screen announced they would do what they could on their end before logging off. Matt groaned, "So…we were right to wonder how many more digidestined there were in the world. Turns out there's loads of them! But…why? Tamer says he's going to help us out and tell us what we need to know but it still seems like he's not telling us something."

"Maybe not," Cody chimed in to add his thoughts, "I mean…remember that prophecy thing he had Wizardmon tell us? A million points of light. Maybe that's what it refers to: we're supposed to bring together all the digivices to create a million points of light."

"And then what? It's not like Myotismon is going to do anything if we bring them all together in one place," Gatomon stated matter of factly, "So really, we haven't come much further than we have before."

"Whatever, let's just get going already," Davis said impatiently, "The world's in trouble and we're just sitting around! Let's go already!"

"Not so fast Davis," Sora grabbed a hold of the older boy's coat, "Our parents aren't going to just let us go out travel the world on our own. Remember back when this all started - the least we should do before go off on this is let our parents know."

TK frowned, "I'm gonna be honest - mom will probably ground me again if I do that."

"The world's in danger, TK," Patamon assured his partner, "I really don't think that's the first thing that'll be on her mind."

Ken frowned at the news and took to leave with Wormmon, "Well, I'm going. My parents don't know."

* * *

"I'm home," Ken said as he walked back into his parents house. He heard a metal clang from the kitchen, probably his mom dropping something, as both his parents rushed out into the entry way to see him, "KEN!"

They stopped when they saw Wormmon riding on his shoulder. He's expected this muted reaction - seeing one of the monsters that'd been plaguing the city suddenly show up in their home on their only son's shoulders. As soon as he saw his dad reach for an umbrella from the coat rack to swing at Wormmon, Ken began quickly, "Dad! Wait! Wormmon is a friend!"

"DON'T BE STUPID! THAT THING'S NOT A FRIEND! THOSE THINGS NEARLY KILLED YOU! LIKE THEY TOOK SAM!" his father bellowed out, "GET AWAY FROM IT KEN!"

"Mom, dad, listen!" Ken shouted, now moving Wormmon into his arms to protect him and hold him close, "He's my friend! See, he won't harm anyone."

"Hiya," Wormmon said quietly, "Might I say it's nice to finally get to talk to you since I've only ever been allowed in Ken's room and he hides me in the closet whenever you come in."

"In our closet? Ken! Are you crazy!" his mom started, until Ken took a hold of her hand and squeezed gently, "Mom, please. Just…hear me out."

His mom looked between him and the worm, not sure what to believe while his dad kept trying to reach the umbrella. He only stopped when Wormmon leapt out of Ken's arms to say, "This whole thing must be stressful for everyone. Let me make you all some tea to help calm your nerves."

Wormmon disappeared into the kitchen, while Ken tried to bring his confused parents into the living room. He sat them down on the couch and waited for Wormmon to return with the tea, trying to decide where he should even begin to tell them this story. It was one thing to explain everything to the other digidestined, he was just trying to justify why he did what he did. But here…he wasn't justifying anything. He just…needed to let them know."

His parents seemed just as uncomfortable as he was, only relaxing when Wormmon returned with a tray holding several fresh cups of green tea that he passed along to each of them. Once he'd rejoined Ken's side, Ken began, "There's a lot I need to tell you. To be honest, I wish I knew where to start."

When he paused after that, his mom began, "Ken, dear. Whatever you need to tell us…you're our son. Nothing will change that. We love you dear."

Ken closed his eyes, relieved to hear his mother's comforting words and began, "A couple of years ago, the day of Sam's funeral…a light showed up in my room, and this guy crawled out of my computer."

He was glad that his parents listened to him as he explained how Tamer showed up in his room, how an _accident_ pulled him into another world. How he'd been gone for weeks but he came back to find that no time had passed at all. How he'd helped to stop some ancient, all powerful evil that wanted to destroy the world - how Tamer seemingly betrayed him and another boy named Ryo. How this strange being who showed up in his room was not as altruistic as he seemed to be.

He did notice his parent's expression souring when he began talking about his time as the Digimon Emperor - his mission to bring peace to the Digital World by beating it into submission, hoping to stop its problems from bleeding over into the Real World as it did the first time. But that souring turned briefly into a shimmer of hope when he mentioned that he'd planned on bringing Sam back to life by the power of one of the temples. He omitted the part where he'd succeeded, they didn't need to know about how Sam died a second time. He choked and tried to beat back his own tears as he explained that his mission had failed. That angered his father while his mother went to hug him, to hold him in an embrace. He cried into her arms, "I'm sorry, mom. I tried, I really did. I thought we could have Sam back."

"Don't…just…don't talk," she replied, "I…I wish you hadn't. Ken…Sam's gone."

While his mom held him in an embrace, his dad looked ready to punch something. He only cooled when he asked, "This…Tamer guy. He's the one responsible for all this?"

"No, he's the one who's been trying to prevent it," Ken managed to say, wiping his eyes. He took another minute to collect himself before saying, "I did what I did because it seemed like he was never going to do enough to actually stop it. Just slow it down."

"So now you have to help clean up…this," his dad grumbled, pointing out the window, "Monsters from another world rampaging around our city, again. Our whole, freaking planet!"

"It's not just me. My-," Ken paused as he said the next few words, "-friends. My friends are just like me. Digidestined or chosen children. It's our responsibility to take care of stuff like this when it happens."

His dad took a deep breath, finally rising up from the couch to join his wife and only living son. Ken anxiously awaited whatever his dad was going to say, knowing that contemplative look on his face and uncertain of what else his dad could add. After a moment, his dad sighed and stated, "You're my son and…you're already miles ahead of where I was when I was your age. Do whatever you think is right. And we will support you."

Ken felt a weight come off his shoulders, unburdening him. He wasn't sure how else to describe it other than to say the word 'calm'. He was calm now.

* * *

Davis told his parents as soon as he got home and wasted no time packing things up to go. To his surprise, Wizardmon was in his apartment waiting with Jun. Both were quick to run to his defense when his dad began chastising them for wanting to go off on a tour to save the world. Jun pointed out, "He's been doing fine going to the Digital World! What's so different about this world?"

"Have you seen the news, Jun! There's fighting all over the place! I am not sending Davis out into that!" their dad snapped just as Wizardmon finally thought to add his opinion, "If I may, Davis and DemiVeemon have demonstrated themselves to be adept at fighting impossible odds. Why, they've dealt with several monstrosities already so I see no reason to not panic-"

"I am not listening to anything a guy dressed as stupidly as you are has to say," their dad interrupted the wizard, before turning on Jun, "And what exactly is he doing here any way? He brought you home, sure. Where's Taichi!? What happened to him!? You've barely said a word since you got back and now you're acting like nothing happened."

Jun stepped back as her gaze shifted downward, "Taichi's...not around anymore."

"Oh...oh. Shit," their dad's attitude shifted when he saw his daughter looking ready to cry. Instead of breaking into tears, she shook her head and looked at Davis, "You have a world to save, don't you? Get going!"

"We are," DemiVeemon said happily, "We'll be back before dinner's ready!"

"You'd better," Jun folded her arms grumpily, before shying away. Davis had a hard time grasping why his sister had been so supportive when it came to him being a digidestined, when she'd been so overprotective when he was younger. If anything, it meant she should've opposed him running into danger. Now, seeing her like this...he didn't like it, "Hey, are...you okay?"

"Yeah," she said quietly. That was a lie. It didn't take a genius to figure out she was upset about Tamer - or more accurately his alter ego 'Taichi'. Unsure of what to do, he did reach out to her, "I'm sorry about him. He...he wasn't-"

"I know," Jun said with a quiet nod, "He's...gone now. I...there's no point in crying ov-"

She paused, choking herself back and beginning to have tears go down her face. Davis, without thinking, hugged his sister to help her feel better, "I'm sorry."

The thoughts of sending Taichi off finally got to her and she broke down, crying on her little brother. He'd barely been gone a day but she already missed him so much. She would give anything to have him back in her life but...it was never going to happen. She let go of her brother after a moment and wiped her tears, "Go. I'll be fine. I...I just need a moment."

Before either of their parents could say or do anything, Jun retreated away into their bedroom. They heard the door lock behind her; her way of signaling that she wanted to be alone. Wizardmon sighed, "I can teleport any of you inside if you'd like to talk to her."

"No, I think it's better if we give her some space right now," their mom said, before turning to Davis, "You're going to go save the world no matter what we say, aren't you?"

"Pretty much, yeah," Davis nodded, despite his partner's worried look for DemiVeemon. Wizardmon chuckled from his corner, "It has to be said that Davis is so stubborn that he probably wouldn't listen if he was told not to. That's probably why he was able to so easily defeat so many of the enemies they've faced in the Digital World."

"Okay, yeah. You could've probably left that part out," Davis frowned, unable to keep his partner from adding, "But it's true! We don't back down! Right partner?"

"Y-yeah," Davis nodded in agreement, unable to contain his excitement from the support he'd received from both Wizardmon and DemiVeemon. That was when his parents finally recanted and let him go. He cheered as he made his way outside with a smile on his face, "We'll be back before you know it! Don't wait up!"

"Then I'll accompany you," Wizardmon bowed, "I should return to my world as well."

* * *

Jun buried her face into her pillow, wanting nothing more than to be alone at that specific moment. When she heard a soft thump, she choked out, "Davis, leave me alone."

"It's not Davis."

She knew that voice, and straightened up right away to see Tamer standing there in her room. One hand was hidden sheepishly in his blue pocket while the other massaged his neck nervously. Still, he was able to force out an awkward smile, "Hi, um, Jun right? I know you probably don't want to see me right now. But...I still had to thank you. For keeping an eye on me while I was...someone else."

Jun didn't reply to him, distracted by his face and his voice. Taichi was right in front of her. But it wasn't Taichi. And Tamer had none of the affection for her that Taichi had. He spoke more...formally. He was polite, but he didn't have any of Taichi's warmth. He frowned at her solemn reaction, "I'm sorry. Seeing this face is probably bringing up some bad memories. But that personality is gone...overwritten. I do have his memories in here, rattling around in my head. But...that's not me. That was someone else's life. A personality that was made up to disguise myself. He wasn't real. Not for a second. But that doesn't mean your feelings for him weren't. Or his feelings for you."

He paused again, waiting for some kind of response but nothing came. He said what he wanted to say, so why hadn't he left? Just the sight of him was too painful to bare. Tamer closed his eyes and smiled, reaching in his pocket to produce a box, "Funny thing about those memories. I can tell just how much you meant to him from the moment he first saw you. You crossed his mind a lot. Which is why...he wanted to give you this."

He passed her the box, a small pink thing that fit in the palm of her hand wrapped in a pristine white bow. She looked at it, heart pounding in anticipation of the gift that he'd gotten for her. It was so small that it was practically insignificant but it was the most important thing to her in that moment. He smiled at her, "Anyway, I need to get going. I have a lot of work to do and not a lot of time to do it. Take care of yourself Jun. And don't worry, I won't bother you again. Good bye. Digiport Open!"

He vanished in a brilliant display of bright light, leaving Jun alone in her room. She looked down at the box, dreading the idea of opening it. This was the last thing left of Taichi Yagami. Her chest pounded so hard it hurt as she unwrapped the present. Inside, the lid revealed a small silver heart pendant. Opening it revealed a photo of the two had taken together on one of their dates. She looked at it with the fondest smile and cried.

...

The digidestined all gathered at the quickly becoming familiar beach where Matt's concert had been ruined and they'd stopped Dragomon's advance on the city. News crews were around covering the crashed concert while emergency crews worked to help as many as they could find. Amidst it all, Cody asked the most obvious question, "Do you think we're being too obvious about this? I mean, Imperialdramon will stand out like a sore thumb!"

"He's a giant, flying dragon," Yolei countered, "He'll be seen no matter where we go. It might as well be someplace where it's easy to climb him and he won't accidentally step on someone."

"It can't be any worse than Wizardmon," Hawkmon pointed out. When Gatomon hissed at him, he quickly added, "I mean look at him, he stands out like a sore thumb."

"I apologize if my attire isn't very fitting to this world," Wizardmon answered as he looked down at his robes. Izzy laughed it off, "Don't worry. You guys can open a gate and use that to go back to your world."

"Yeah, I guess," Cody frowned. Izzy had been typing on his computer while they gathered and explained to them, "Okay, so based on the hotspots, I think it'd be best if we split up into teams of two for this. I was thinking-"

"That you should go to America," TK joked, making Izzy go bright red while the rest of the group chortled. Armadillomon pointed out, "Aw, don't be so modest Izzy. We all know. Mimi does too. Might as well go see her while we're out saving the world."

"So that's two digidestined in America," Sora joined his side to look at the screen, "It looks like we have Mexico City, Sydney, Moscow, Hong Kong, and Paris. So who wants to go where?"

"Davis and I will have to be the last ones off since we need to be together for Imperialdramon," Ken pointed out, "So, where will it be partner?"

Davis looked in Kari's direction sheepishly and grumbled, "Wherever. Last time we went to another country we almost got shot at so someplace where we speak the language would be nice."

"Mexico City it is," Ken folded his arms. Wormmon added, "Those years of Spanish might pay off, Ken. If you remember any of it."

"No digasme como a vivir mi vida," Ken replied shortly, confusing everyone else. Cody raised a hand in objection, "I think each of us should go to one place each. I mean the newer digidestined, since we're the only ones who can open the gates to the Digital World."

"That's a fair point Cody," Izzy nodded in agreement, "Sorry, Davis but you might get stranded in America again. It's right next to Mexico!"

"I swear, if another American shoots at me I'm going to shoot back!" Davis grumbled with crossed arms, annoyed with the news.

Yolei was miffed about not being able to go with Ken and stated, "I guess I can take Moscow. I know a little Russian."

"Aren't the only-" Hawkmon started but stopped when Yolei flicked the back of his head. Kari joyfully added, "I'm game for that. I'd like to see the sights of Paris while we're there."

"Cody, Gomamon, Armadillomon, and I can take Hong Kong," Joe reasoned, "It'd be nice to visit."

"I guess I should go Moscow too," Sora said bashfully, this time becoming the center of unwanted attention. Seeing her embarrassed expression TK whistled, "Sorry bro, it looks like you'll have to take a romantic date some other time."

"Don't tease them," Yolei scolded TK, while Kari had to cock her head, "Wait, did I miss something?"

"Matt likes Sora but hasn't been able to say it," TK explained to her, "I guess he either finally confessed or at the least asked her out. At the very least, they know now because of Tamer's video."

"Right, so…anyway. Are you going to be okay by yourself, TK?" Matt asked him quickly to try and get off the subject of his love life with Sora. TK nodded, "Oh yeah, you bet. We've been fine on our own before, right Patamon?"

"Yeah, as long as there's no killer clown on the loose, I think we'll be okay," Patamon nodded quietly. Anxious to finally get going, Davis pulled out his digivice and pointed it at his partner, "Alright! Let's go!"

"Good luck digidestined. I hope everything works out for you," Wizardmon bowed. Izzy opened his laptop and let Yolei open a gate back to the Digital World for him. He vanished in a brilliant display of light as Wormmon and Veemon digivolved.

The news reporters and emergency crews all stopped what they were doing the moment they saw the bright flash of light in the corner of their eyes. The cameras kept rolling and no one could believe what they were seeing as a large dragon with black armor appeared before their very eyes. Some fled away while others stayed to watch. One of the camera crew was lucky enough to focus the camera on a bunch of kids climbing the monstrosity. Once they were all settled onto its back, the dragon rose up into the air and vanished in a flash of light and sound.

 


	42. Digidestined Australia and Asia

Far above Earth in the International Space Station, the astronauts gazed down upon the planet below in curious fascination. They'd missed their last check in with command several hours ago and had been unable to reach them at all since. The communication silence was worrisome enough when they witnessed a glowing red light peak somewhere over the horizon just east of China. It zoomed by unbelievably fast, and alarmed everyone on board. Few things existed that could reach that speed, and even fewer didn't involve leaving the atmosphere. One of the astronauts headed for the comm center and tried hailing command, "This is ISS to command. Are we expecting any satellite launches today?"

The silence on the radio didn't make them feel any better. So they tried again, "ISS to command, we have a fast moving object peaking several degrees off the east of China - please confirm. Command?"

More silence. More worries. Radio silence for hours and now a fast moving object appearing over the horizon. That meant one thing and one thing only to the crew of the station - an ICBM. But where did it come from and where was it going. They had their answer when it disappeared somewhere along the coast - where Hong Kong should've been. One of the astronaut's gasped, "My god."

"How many people live down in that city?" another of the crew asked. There was no great flash of light, though. Whatever had been fired had failed to go off. A moment of relief followed, perhaps it had been a misfire - like the incident years ago when a bug caused a US nuke to fire itself at Tokyo. Maybe there would be no retaliatory strike. Then something worse happened:

Another light emerged from China and zoomed back eastward over the horizon. Their fears were confirmed now. Whatever was going down there on Earth, it had become a shooting war of missiles. What else could it be?

* * *

TK set off with Patamon alone in Australia, not really sure what to expect as they made their way through the city of Sydney. It was mid morning here but the city was deadly quiet - as if it had been abandoned in a haste. Both TK and Patamon looked up down the street and saw nothing. Then a voice called out to them from one of the buildings. TK turned his head to see a police officer running his way with a gun. The officer shouted something and TK quickly grabbed Patamon to protect him while keeping a hand in the air, "Don't shoot! Don't shoot!"

He wasn't sure the officer understood as he kept a gun trained on him, and had no idea what the officer was saying anyway. Patamon looked up, "What do we do, TK?"

"I have no clue, I don't speak English," TK frowned, backing away as the officer stepped closer. All the pretense was dropped when they heard stomping from down the street that sent the officer into a panic. He didn't even try to push TK behind him to protect him. He just dropped the gun and ran as fast as he could away from there. TK and Patamon both looked down the street, wondering what would scare an officer of the law that much when a Centarumon came around the corner. TK reached for his digivice, letting Patamon leap out of his arms in case of a fight only to be pleasantly surprised when a girl came around the corner with the digimon. She had to be about his age, with long brown hair that she tied into a ponytail behind her head. Her clothes were also…unexpected, a white shirt with blue sleeves under a sleeveless orange hoodie and brown shorts. She waved at him and ran to greet him, letting TK realize that she was wearing a pair of goggles on her head. She grabbed his hand and shook it, greeting him with words he barely understood until he gasped, "Wait, what?"

"Oh, you're Japanese," she stopped, "Wait, are you one of the Japanese digidestined who's supposed to be coming to help us? Where are the rest of you? Are they all here?"

"No, they're going elsewhere. Who are you?" TK managed to get out as she continued shaking his head. Realizing that she'd held his hand a few seconds too long, she let go and leapt back away from him, "Sorry, I got a little excited. I'm Tina! And this is my partner, Centarumon."

"It's been a while," the half horse digimon waved. She turned back to her partner in surprise, "You know each other?"

"Wait, you're that Centarumon!?" TK gasped in surprise, "Have you been here the whole time?"

"Why yes. But we can talk about that later," Centarumon nodded. Tina turned back to TK, her hands behind her back and with a big smile, "So, what's your name?"

"Oh um, I'm Takeru…but my friends call me TK," he stammered in response, not used to girls standing this close to him. Patamon amusedly said, "Geez, TK, you're as red as your brother."

"So how do you know Japanese?" TK asked nervously, trying to change the subject. Tina leaned in closer, uncomfortably close for TK that he became concerned, "Oh. Mum's Japanese but my dad's Australian. So mum taught me how to speak it. Say, has anyone ever told you you're kinda cute?"

That was it. TK jumped away in surprise and she giggled at him. Then she asked, "So where are the rest of you?"

"It's just us," Patamon said, "What about you? Do you know where the others are?"

"Yeah, we were gathering as many digimon around the Sydney Opera House," Tina explained excitedly, "You can open a gate, right?"

"Uh, yeah," TK nodded quietly, completely out of his element and thrown off guard by this quirky girl who started skipping ahead of them. Centarumon sighed and followed after his partner, "Come on. Let's go before she gets herself into trouble."

"She seems…nice," TK chose his words carefully, still shaken by the compliment and how forward she was. Sora, Kari, Yolei, Mimi…none of them were like that. Well, Mimi sort of was but she was always teasing about it where as Tina seemed genuine. Centarumon chuckled, "Yes. She wasn't always like that though and, to be fair, I prefer her like this than before."

"What do you mean?" TK asked, cocking his head to side. Centarumon looked ahead at his partner, now humming to herself playfully, "The way we met was weird. I'll spare you the details but suffice it to say, neither of us were expecting it and it took a while before we could even talk to each other. Back then, she used to be very shy and withdrawn. Sickly even. Then we met Tamer. He…managed to get her out of her shell - she became open and playful. It wasn't over night. Little by little. My only problem is she started wearing goggles. And acting like him. It was sort of like you, only she's a girl."

"Huh, most people don't have a positive experience with Tamer," Patamon pointed out, "They're usually mad or hate him towards the end."

"Oh, don't get confused. I'd probably hit him if I ever see him. Believe me, nothing is worse than not understanding a word anyone is saying," Centarumon explained with a crack of his knuckles, "But she probably wouldn't appreciate it if I did. I honestly think she likes him."

TK didn't have the heart to bring up the fact that Tamer had been going around with a fake name and dating Davis' sister - that might upset the otherwise peppy girl. The rest of their walk down the street was unimpeded by either people or digimon, prompting TK to ask, "So where is everyone? The city's like a ghost town."

"Most people ran as soon as the digimon started showing up," Centarumon said, "A few people stayed in their homes, but they took off as soon as the other digidestined started tracking down every digimon they could find and bringing them here. And now Australia's army is coming in to surround and 'retake' the city. Although I imagine that isn't as good as it sounds."

"No kidding," TK frowned just as they rounded a corner and found a walkway that went along the coast until it reached the Sydney Opera House sitting at the water's edge. Beside it was a large park dotted with trees and lined with walkways. And in the center were several digimon of all sizes gathered around a frizzy haired boy with a laptop. He frowned upon seeing them return and waved, shouting out to them. Tina returned the greeting with a smile, then explained, "That's Derek. He's the one who's been trying to crack the gate open since this whole mess started. Now that you're here, opening it should be no problem!"

"Yeah, I can do that," TK nodded surveying the digimon here - Shellmon, Gizamon, Divermon, Bukamon, Scorpiomon, a giant lobster looking digimon, and others he'd never seen before. One of them, a Gekomon, ran up to him, "Finally! A familiar face! I'll take back any bad thoughts I ever had about you guys, just please take me home!"

TK blinked in surprise at the sight of this digimon, "Oh, you speak Japanese too."

The Gekomon turned his head, "Japanese? What? Look, what's going on? I was on the wall guarding ShogunGekomon's palace this morning and now I'm here! What did I miss!?"

"It's a long story, but we're working on getting all the digimon back," TK frowned, seeing the desperation on the Gekomon's face, "I hope everything's been okay with you."

"Okay? Are you nuts!? It's been a nightmare! I can't understand a word anyone here is saying and humans keep shooting at us!" the Gekomon screamed out. Tina came to join the Gekomon, "Be fair, mate. You're the one who landed in the middle of a police station. What did you think would happen? You'd be friends and have a barbecue?"

"Can I just go home?" the Gekomon frowned. TK nodded and joined the boy with the computer who was typing away furiously. He groaned in frustration, then looked up at Izzy, talking in more words he didn't understand. Patamon turned his head, "So how are we supposed to work together when we don't understand each other?"

Derek grumbled, then typed into his computer. Once he finished, he pressed a button and the computer spoke in a mechanical drone, "We wait for others. Come from Barrier Reef with more digimon. Many soldiers around city."

"That works," TK said, leaning over to type his response and letting the computer translate. Derek listened to the computer as it spoke, then typed back his own response. Before the computer could start translating, they heard the buzz of a helicopter over head and saw a black one marked with the Australian flag fly by. Derek cursed while TK asked, "Is that normal?"

Tina folded her arms and grumbled, "It has been for the last couple of hours. It keeps circling around but it never comes in to attack. It could be spying on us."

"We should destroy it before it gets back!" the Gekomon gasped. TK waved the idea off, "No, otherwise they'll come out to rescue their friends, or actually start attacking us."

"And what's stopping them from attacking us now?" the Gekomon asked in a panic. Centarumon answered knowledgeably, "They probably think that we're holding the digidestined hostage, which is all the reason they need to not attack."

"Have we tried talking to them?" TK pointed at it, "Angemon can carry you up there and you can explain what's going on."

"Why me?" Patamon asked with surprise, while he pointed out, "Because who in their right mind would shoot an angel? Remember years back when Myotismon attacked? All the police stopped shooting the moment you showed up!"

"Wow, cute and smart," Tina winked in TK's direction, again flustering the boy. Derek grumbled something in frustration, then went back to his computer as if to ignore them. Patamon asked, "He's not very happy is he?"

"He thinks we need to stop flirting," Tina explained, gesturing between herself and TK. TK went red in the face again while Tina said something teasingly in English. He wanted out of this subject right away and produced his digivice from his pocket, "Good luck Patamon."

With a flash of light, Patamon took on his angelic form. Once he had a hold of Tina, the angel glided towards the helicopter hovering out just ahead of them. The helicopter took an evasive maneuver as Angemon drew close, as if trying to keep its distance, but Angemon's speed more than made up the difference. They could see Tina shouting something at the helicopter, waving her arms to get the pilot's attention. Centarumon looked at TK and asked, "I hope you know what you're doing."

"It's more like we're winging it - kinda like Tamer," TK frowned, growing nervous at how long it was taking the helicopter to respond to Angemon and Tina. Centarumon grew just as nervous and armed his cannon to fire, ready to protect his partner until the helicopter jerked away quickly. It hurried off back into the city and disappeared. Once Angemon and Tina returned, Derek rushed them with questions which Tina took turns answering in both languages, "They gave us a thumbs up, so either they understood that we're just trying to get the digimon back home or they're about to send in the army to _rescue_ us. You were right, though TK. The only reason they didn't shoot was cos' of Angemon."

"If it worked for us before, I don't know why it wouldn't work now," TK put his hands to his hips. In the distance, they heard the distant sound of a boat horn coming their way. Out in the bay, they could see several naval vessels following a large group of aquatic digimon led by a Whamon. Behind him were several Scorpiomon, Seadramon, Gesomon, Shellmon, and many more. And atop Whamon's head were a group of kids waving at them. Tina waved back and squealed out excitedly as the naval vessels stopped short of the actual city, forming up to cordon the area so that the digimon couldn't leave. Derek raced out to the shore to great the marine digimon while TK asked, "Is this the rest of the Australian digidestined?"

"That's right!" Tina said with her hands on her hips, "So all that's left is whatever you were going to do to send them back to the Digital World!"

"Yeah, just have them huddle up around the computer," TK began walking to Derek while Tina called for everyone's attention and explained to them what to do. The Gekomon ran up along side TK and asked, "Are we finally going back to the Digital World? Where are we going to end up?"

"No idea, we've never opened a gate in Australia," TK shrugged, hoping that the gate would even open at all. Hey went out to the water to meet the aquatic digimon while Derek finished typing away on his computer and flipped it around for TK to see the screen - the familiar image of the Ancient gate looked back at him and he held out his digivice, "Digiport Open!"

The gate cracked open and a blinding light met them on the other side. TK closed his eyes to keep from being blinded as winds roared past his ears. This felt different though. He could see shadows being pulled into the light but he felt himself firmly planted on the ground. The light died and the winds stopped as the gate finally closed, leaving him and the other digidestined alone on the beach with their partners. TK breathed a sigh of relief, "Well, I'm glad to see that worked out."

"Same," Tina said excitedly, looking around to make sure all the stray digimon were gone, "So what do we now, TK?"

She said that with more affection that TK cared for and he backed away, "Well, I was planning on getting back to Japan but my ride's not back yet. You guys should probably just lay low for a while."

"Ooh! You can hang out with us until the heat dies down!" Tina offered excitedly until Derek spat out something angry. Tina backed off while TK raised an eye brow, "What's he upset about?"

Angemon folded his arms, "He'll die young if he doesn't calm himself down."

Tina repeated his remarks in Japanese, "He's frustrated because he wants to know where all the digimon came from suddenly and why Tamer told us to contact you guys."

TK sighed, realizing he should've known this question was going to come up, "Honestly? It's a long story and I'd be happy to tell you but I think it'd be better if we find a place to lay low first."

"We can head back to my place!" Tina said excitedly, "My house is at the other end of the city, away from those soldier guys and it'll give us time to hang out!"

She repeated everything for the rest of the group and there was a murmur of agreement. At least, he hoped it was agreement. TK looked back at Angemon who was awaiting his call before finally regressing back to Patamon. It seemed only fair to let them know what was going on since they probably didn't want anything to do with his mess as it was.

* * *

Mummymon and Arukenimon drove their white van around the mess that was Tokyo, quietly listening to the radio as they went. Mostly, Arukenimon was just trying to avoid a conversation with Mummymon. As they drove along, the announcer on the radio spoke, "-with communication and power services being restored around the country. Government officials have still yet to comment on the events of last night, as emergency services continue to work around the clock to help the injured and search for survivors. The top story now is confirmation of children working with the monsters. Footage captured by press crews earlier todays shows a large monster appearing on the beach in the Tokyo Bay area and several children climbing on its back before it disappears. The identity of most of these children remain a mystery, however one was identified as former child prodigy Ken Ichijouji. He-"

Arukenimon turned off the radio and wondered just what the digidestined were thinking, doing something so high profile. Then again, they had let Dragomon loose in the Real World so who was she to point fingers? At the same time, Mummymon complained, "I don't understand why we have to drive around the city."

"Because there's fear in the air," Arukenimon answered, "Fear that can be exploited if its harnessed."

She thumbed to a laptop sitting open in the backseat, connected to all manner of Ancient tehcnology that she just barely understood, "The program on there is running to help harness that fear for later on."

"I know, but why couldn't we just put on a roof somewhere and let it run that way?" Mummymon asked. Arukenimon was about to scold him when she realized he had a point. Why weren't they just doing that? The range could get pretty far when there was nothing in its way. Sure, the buildings were tall, but set it on a roof and that problem would solve itself. The more she thought about it, the more it began to worry her. She'd never considered it seriously before but she suddenly felt like...a pawn.

* * *

Joe and Cody rode a bus through the crowded streets of Hong Kong, confused by the bizarre ease for digimon to simply integrate into the society. Joe turned his head, "Who'd have thought that the people in Hong Kong were so accepting?"

"Or they're so used t'weird stuff happenin' that this ain't weird to them," Armadillomon countered. Cody was about to point out the problem with this when they heard a scream and a commotion coming from one of the restaurants they rode past. Gomamon sprung into action by leaping off the bus before Joe could even pull the break asking for a stop. Once they clammored off the bus, they could see people running out of the restaurant as a Musyamon charged out, waving his sword and screaming in an angered scowl. He only stopped when a boy wearing an apron came out and smacked him on the head with a soup ladle, demanding something in Chinese. Musyamon turned on the boy angrily, raising his sword above his head.

Gomamon and Armadillomon were about to jump in when the boy produced a digivice and flashed a blindingly bright light in his eyes. Once the light faded, the digimon calmed down and listened more intently to the boy as he instructed the digimon back inside. The four of them stood dumb founded by what they'd seen, and the boy seemed just as lost when he saw them staring back. Then he beckoned them to follow and went back inside. The two digidestined and their partners all swapped nervous looks before following inside to see a packed restaurant full of digimon and people happily eating their meals. They followed the boy into the back corner where he spoke to someone else sitting on their own in a corner booth. Joe and Gomamon felt their jaws hit the floor at the sight of him but neither Cody nor Armadillomon were sure why.

But for Joe and Gomamon, it was a blast from the past. They knew the clothes he wore - a long open white robe with a hood on the back, over a long sleeved black shirt and pants. Instead of shoes, he had a pair of dirtied boots that he kept propped up on the table, crossed into a relaxed position as he reclined on his chair that needed to be tilted back so far he looked ready to fall over. They expected to see a young Tamer but his face was different and his hair was a shade too dark - just as long but all styled up and back.

The Chinese boy walked up to him and whispered something before disappearing back into the kitchen. This strange Tamer look alike looked up from what he was doing, smiling so dangerously that it seemed like he about to play a trick on them. He straightened himself up and walked towards them, "So…let me think. Joe Kido, Gomamon, Cody Hida, and Armadillomon, right? I was wondering when you were going to get here. Do you like what I've done with the place?"

"Who are you?" Joe asked, eyes narrowing with suspicion as the boy started circling them, "And how do you know our names?"

"What? No comments on my work? That's rude," the boy replied, gesturing at the calm restaurant around them. When they still stared with their mouth half open in surprise, he slumped down and motioned for them to sit, "Care to join me for some food? The eldest Poi brother makes a really good wonton soup if you'd like some."

He gestured towards the kitchen where they could see an old man busy preparing all sorts of dishes while three kids helped him at various odd jobs - washing dishes, preparing plates, and running orders. With the three kids were small digimon - green blobs inside of purple clam shells that helped with all the little things - possibly the Chinese digidestined. Joe returned his attention to the stranger, "You didn't answer my question. You're dressed like Tamer used to, you're even kind of acting like him. But you're not…him. Who are you?"

"Straight to the chase," the boy rolled his eyes, gesturing them again to sit opposite him, "I'm not sure I care for it. So, I have a couple of names. My personal favorite right now is The Trickster. At least, that's what the humans at Burnt Leaf call me. They're always stepping on my fun. When they can manage to anyway.'

"Trickster?" Cody repeated as he took a seat only for his chair to collapse under him. Joe helped the boy up while Trickster burst out into a fit of laughter, "Yeah, because of that. See? It's a trick! Well, a prank. But it's fun all the same. Well, it's fun for me. I imagine it sucks for everyone else."

"You sabotaged the chair for a prank?" Cody frowned, dusting himself off. Trickster laughed, "Quite the opposite. I never touched the chair. But I knew it would break if I told you to sit on it. It's not my fault you didn't check."

"Are you an Ancient?" Gomamon asked. The Trickster straightened himself out and jeered, "That's such a stupid perversion of the word. We're Digital Agents. Get it right. The only reason some digimon called us Ancient is because of how old we were. Not to mention some of them can't verbalize the word agent even though ancient would be harder to say. Don't ask me - some digimon are just stupid. Besides, it's not like there's anything you could do about it if I was."

"If you're an Ancient, then why ain't ya doin' anything about all of this?" Armadillomon asked. Trickster shrugged, "Should I? I think it's glamorous - a place where human and digimon live together in harmony while the rest of the world goes to hell! I love it! That's my kind of place!"

"Tamer will stop you!" Joe warned, making Trickster scoff, "If you think so. Let's be honest for a moment - with how fixated he is in Destiny, do you think he'll ever do enough to stop it? Besides, he's too busy to notice I'm here."

"But he'll want to meet you!" Gomamon added, "Another Ancient like you can help clean this whole mess up faster!"

"Yeah, no, not doing that! And you'll have to fight me to make it happen!" The Trickster declared, leaping onto the table and pointing a strange digivice at them. The whole restaurant went quiet except for the clutter of noise coming from the kitchen. Joe and Cody reached for their digivices while Armadillomon and Gomamon leapt in front of them. They just had to empty the restaurant before things got out of hand but how was the problem.

The patrons seemed more interested in watching a fight actually break out than they did in getting to safety. The Trickster seemed to register this fact and looked all the more delighted by it - ready to make as much of a mess as he could. Then his expression softened, relaxing into a calm smile as he spun his odd digivice, "Y'know what? I have a better idea. You four just want to send these digimon all back to The Digital World, right?"

"That's right," Cody nodded, "Are you going to help us?"

"Gathering enough digimon in one place so it looks like an army is forming? Sounds like fun! It'll be a whole barrel of joy!" The Trickster said that with a bit more mocking joy than he should have. His complete reversal in attitude had Noe and Cody swapping nervous glances. They couldn't dwell on it though - Trickster was already shouting at everyone in what sounded like one of the Chinese dialects, ushering all the humans out while gathering the digimon together. Three boys came out of the kitchen wearing aprons and accompanied by green blobs poking their heads out of pink oysters. The oldest of the boys asked something and Trickster translated, "They'd like to know if you're the help that was supposed to come."

"Yeah, we are," Cody answered, bowing to the boys in respect while adding, "We're here to help open the gate."

"Obviously, but why would you do that here?" Trickster replies, "Digimon popped up all across Asia! Word has to get out! Let's open a gate at the border with India! That'll be fun!"

"Wait, India?" Joe panicked, "You're kidding!"

"What's wrong Joe? That sounds like a good old plan to me. It'll save us a lot of trips to get them all in one place," Gomamon slapped his partner before he had a panic attack. Joe shook his head, "You don't understand: China and India get along like...well like TK and Davis. They fight all the time over little things. Who knows what'll happen if either side sees a bunch of digimon coming to the border! That's practically a war waiting to happen."

"Sounds like fun!" the Trickster added gleefully, skipping to the door playfully. Armadillomon clicked his tongue, "We can't let him start a war!"

"Oh you kids need to learn how to have some fun," The Trickster spun in place with a pointed finger at Armadillomon, "Now behave or otherwise bad things will happen! Things like this!"

He snapped his fingers and Armadillomon screamed in pain for a moment, then regressed back down to Upamon. Upamon looked down at himself in surprise, "Wait, what happened? Why am I Upamon?"

"I regressed you!" The Trickster cackled playfully, picking up Upamon to look him in the eye, "Look at that; you're like a little soccer ball with ears. I wonder if you bounce like one too?"

"Hey, put me down!" Upamon struggled in his hands. The Trickster handed the digimon back to Cody and pointed out to the door, "So, here's the deal: We're going to get all the digimon in China, bring them to the Indian border. Look at it this way: I'm helping you do whatever it is you're doing, right? After all, it's not like you can do anything to stop me."

Cody and Joe were about to point their digivices at their partners, but the devices shocked them in protest and flew out of their hands. Cody's mouth fell open in disbelief, "How?"

"Are you kidding? Digivices?" the Trickster scoffed, rapping his knuckles on Cody's head, "Do keep up: that's Agent technology! You probably don't even know how to open gates without a computer! What a joke, trying to use them against me. You might as well be ants trying to use a cellphone. Now! Behave yourselves like some good little kids and come along before more bad things happen!"

Cody and Joe swallowed the growing lumps in their throats, looking back at Poi brothers in the kitchen who appeared just as nervous as they were. The boys were whispering to each other and their digimon partners - obviously trying to make sense of Trickster. Without any real way of talking with them, it would be hard to tell them what was really going on. So they did the only thing they could do: message the others and hope someone would come to help.

Outside, Trickster was already calling out to the many digimon there and assembling them in the middle of the street despite the traffic that was building up. All it took was a snap of his fingers for the cars with blaring horns to disappear, leaving their drivers helpless on the pavement. Trickster flipped them the bird, then began explaining to the digimon the plan. Many of them groaned but others were clearly eager to go back to their own world. The only problem arose from the digimon who appeared confused. One of them, an Agumon in ShogunGekomon's guard uniform, was ecstatic to see them, "Thank goodness! I had no idea what I was going to do here. I can't understand anybody!"

"We came to send everyone back to the Digital World," Gomamon explained, "Then Trickster over there started giving us grief. What's his deal, anyway?"

"Him? No idea. But he's an Ancient, right? I thought they were all dead except The Digimon Tamer," the Agumon answered, grumbling under his breath, "I mean, that's what they say anyway."

"Yeah, but who's the one who says it?" Gomamon asked anxiously, now wondering how much more they weren't being told. Trickster whistled at the digimon and they all started following him in march step as he led the way to what they assumed was the border. Cody and Joe were just glad this meant they would have time as they walked.

The eldest of the Poi brothers came up to them and, to their surprise, spoke in what had to be worst Japanese than Mimi's friend Michael, "You Japanese, yes? Help problem die, yes? Making happiness for everyone?"

"Um...yeah," Cody answered for them. The eldest Poi brother breathed a sigh of relief and gestured towards his siblings to join them. He went on in his broken Japanese, "We help long time Tamer. He friend ours. We help digimon also."

"I don't think they know what's going on," Joe stated, "It's hard to tell when we're already lost in translation."

"Guys, we're bringing a bunch of digimon to the border! You do know what's wrong with that, right?" Upamon asked.

"Okay, we protect," the eldest Poi gave a thumbs while his brothers stood in the background giving semi-assured nods. His answer was hardly a confirmation and just made it that much harder to tell if any of them knew what was going on.

Cody sighed and looked back at his D-Terminal. The others were probably busy with their own problems but this would become the biggest one if they didn't act soon. The question was: what should they do? It was obvious The Trickster wasn't going to let them stop this train before it got out of hand. He'd created a place at peace while the world was in chaos simply because it amused him. Who knew what he would do at the border. He was just glad they had hours to figure out what that was at the rate they were walking.

Or it should have been hours. Within minutes of starting their walk, Trickster got bored and snapped his fingers. In another blinding flash of light, they found themselves assembled a short distance away at a mountain range in the late afternoon. The Agumon with them asked, "Whoa, what was that?"

"I got bored, so I fast forwarded the walk part," Trickster looked back at them with a devilish smile, "That way, we skip all the boring parts and get to the good stuff!"

"The digivice can do that?" Cody looked down at it in disbelief while Trickster cackled, "If you know what you're doing. Ooh, look. There's already a standoff!"

Trickster pointed ahead to a large and unexpected military presence there. In the distance, they could see tanks and artillery taking position while helicopters and troops patrolled the area. And it was safe to say their large entourage hadn't gone unnoticed.

The Poi brothers were alarmed to see the troops with their country's flag on the side. They were more alarmed to see soldiers assembled ahead of them at the base of a mountain range, bearing down with the Indian flag emblazoned on their uniforms and tanks. And just beyond them was another large group of digimon being guided by kids. The middle Poi brother spoke out, "We fight now! For protect of friends!"

"No, we're not fighting!" Joe reasoned with them, "If we fight, we might start a war!"

"Oh, let them have their tussle! It'll be more fun that way," Trickster winked, perching himself on a rock and smiling gleefully as the Chinese soldiers started to advance towards the oncoming digimon from the Indian side of the border. Seeing the advance led the soldiers on the Indian side to advance.

"Did anyone come up with a plan in the thirty minutes while we were walking?" Upamon asked nervously, watching as the troops advanced on each other. The Poi brothers looked ready to run in and help fight with their partners when The Trickster held up his hand, "No. Just watch. This is the funny part!"

"Joe! What did you come up with!? Tell me you came up with something!" Gomamon asked. Joe shook his head, "Yeah, Ill just do my old chant and pray for a miracle!"

"It's better than nothing," Gomamon frowned, "Do it Joe!"

Joe clasped his hands together, uncertain of his plan was actually going to work and repeated, "Buddham saranam gacchami! Dhammam saranam gacchami! Sangham saranam gacchami! Namo tassa bbagavato arahato sammasambudhassa!"

For a moment, Joe was certain he'd accomplished nothing. Then he heard screams and shouts as fighting begun to break out. But something was missing - there was no shooting or explosions. It was the quietest battle he'd ever heard. He opened his eyes and saw, to his disbelief, the Chinese and Indian troops had stopped their advances.

Tanks and APCs had stopped in the tracks. Helicopters in the air suddenly turned away in the air to go back towards their positions. Soldiers who were advancing moments ago were now digging into their positions, as if they were anxiously awaiting the other side to make the first move.

Meanwhile, the digimon continued their advance towards each other until they met in the center of the assembled armies. The meeting was jollier than it would've seemed, with neither army still moving int to engage. Joe couldn't believe anything he was seeing. Gomamon patted his leg, "Good work Joe."

"Wait, how did that work?" Upamon asked, flabbergasted by what he was seeing. Joe shrugged, "I don't know…it just always worked anytime I did it in the Digital World. I didn't think it would actually work here. I mean, the Digital World always defied logic in some way but this is...different."

"Oh, don't be so thick," The Trickster cackled from his seat atop the rock. He leapt back down and pocketed his hands, "You think I dragged you all out here just to start a war? Hell no! I've been running from the last one for millennia! I'm not about to run head first into another one. Neither do these folks - nobody down there is spoiling for a fight on Christmas. None of them want to be the one to ruin it, and why would they? Good for them! It's like the chair back in the restaurant, only bigger."

"Wait, but what was the point of bringing us all out here?" Cody demanded of the boy. Trickster spun around to flick Cody's nose, "I. Am. The. Trickster. It's in the name! I don't create the scenario, all I do is put people in a situation for things to go wrong. If people want to be stupid and get themselves killed, let them. That would be destiny, wouldn't it? Mind you, I've never done anything this big before."

"Geez, more destiny talk," Gomamon frowned. Trickster laughed and patted the little digimon's head, "Oh, get used to it Gomamon. The Digital Agents are very big on that. Now, go over there and do whatever you came here to do. I have two armies with a bunch of broken tanks and I plan on getting them to do a musical number. Is the Macarena still big in this world or has Gangnam Style become a thing yet? One way to find out! WEE!"

Trickster hummed a tune while skipping away towards the nearest soldiers, leaving the digidestined standing there more confused than ever. Gomamon frowned, "Never thought we'd meet someone worse than the Digimon Tamer. At least Tamer wouldn't trick us into thinking he wanted to start a war."

"Speaking of which, Tamer will definitely want to know that there's another Ancient running around," Cody said, producing his D-Terminal to message the others. Just ahead of them, the two groups of digimon met each other in the center jovially. Then they encircled the Chinese and Indian digidestined who appeared to have begun arguing with each other. Then one of them threw a punch, and it turned into a fight between kids. Upamon bounced to get Cody's attention, "Guys, they're fighting. I think there's some kind of misunderstanding over there."

"We're not out of this yet," Cody frowned, hurrying ahead. Joe raced to catch up once he finished typing out his message and caught up to them. They pushed their way to the front of the digimon crowd and were met by disappointment. The Chinese and Indian digidestined were shouting at each other while their digimon grappled to pin the other down. It would take a lot of work to get them to even talk to each other - it was just a matter of how to getting them to calm down. Joe looked at his partner with his digivice ready in his hand, "Bring down the hammer, Gomamon."

"I'm proud of you Joe. That was actually pretty good," Gomamon answered, hurrying ahead and digivolving straight to Zudomon. The Ultimate drove straight in the middle of the two fighting sides and slammed his hammer as hard as he could on the ground. The ground trembled and everyone fell over from lost balance while Joe ran in the center, "Stop fighting!"

"Yeah, stop it!" Cody added, Upamon bouncing along side him, "We're not here to fight! We're here to take the digimon back to the Digital World, so stop it!"

It was pointless - without any way to actually speak in each other's languages, they might as well have done nothing. They were still shouting, although now at Joe and Cody for interfering. It was infuriating. All of this because they couldn't understand each other and had no way of communicating. He was so mad. If only they had a way of talking to each other. He gripped his digivice in his hand and remembered it was there - Trickster said that they weren't even using these to their full potential. What good were they as digidestined when they didn't even know how to use their own digivices?

Then it occurred to him that the digivice might actually have a translation function built in. They'd never really looked into it. Who was to say there wasn't one built in somewhere? He pressed every button on the digivice as he cycled through different screens and different menus in search of what he needed. Then something appeared on screen briefly he'd never seen before - a series of words in different languages floating past with a single world standing out. The Japanese word for talk. He pressed it, hoping for the best. He reminded himself that TK always said things just worked out for them.

"We were trying to get the digimon back home!"

"Yeah right, that's why you brought an army!"

"Look who's talking! Your army charged at the same time you did."

"We weren't charging! We were trying to protect the digimon!"

"Wait a second, you're speaking Hindi," one of the Indian digidestined said.

"No I'm not! You're speaking Cantonese!" the youngest Poi brother shouted, swinging his ladle over his head, "What gives?"

"Hey, I can understand them now," ShogunGekomon's Agumon commented, "Cool. Wait, how?"

"Yeah, I understand them too," Joe looked at Cody, "Cody, did you do this?"

"Maybe? Let's figure that out later," Cody ran into the middle of the two groups, "Guys! Stop fighting! We're here to help the digimon get back to the Digital World! Not tear each other apart."

"We are doing that! We're trying to protect them from the Indian army!" the eldest Poi brother said, "Trickster told us you said the Indian digidestined were coming with the army."

"What!? We did no such thing! We came here because you started marching a bunch of digimon to the border with your army!" one of the Indian digidestined said, "What is that supposed to look like?"

"Oh man, talk about a trick," Joe slapped his face, to the confusion of the other digidestined, "Don't you get it? It was Trickster? This was his trick! He put us in a position where you'd all think you were going to the border with an army. What really happened is you were bringing your digimon to meet each other, and your armies followed each of you here! His trick was making us all think that."

"Honestly, we thought we were being brought here to go home," a digimon on the Indian side commented, "We have no idea why these guys started fighting. Who chose them to be digidestined?"

"The Digimon Tamer did," the youngest Poi brother said rather proudly. One of the Indian digidestined added, "Us too. Wow, talk about a misunderstanding."

"Can we just go home already?" one of the digimon asked impatiently. Cody nodded, "Yeah, we just need a computer to open a gate back to the Digital World. Does anyone have one?"

"Who just carries a computer around?" one of the Indian digidestined asked. Cody sighed, "It really does just seem to be Izzy, huh?"

"What about those soldiers over there?" one of the Poi brothers asked, "They might have a computer in one of their tanks."

"That's not a bad idea but how are we supposed to get anywhere near them without getting shot?" Zudomon asked. As if he'd tempted fate, they heard soft singing coming from the Indian soldiers. After a few moments, singing came from the Chinese side. A moment of tension brought to an end by singing coming from both sides. The tunes were similar but the words were in each other's language. Upamon's eyes narrowed, "I don't believe it. He actually was going to get them to sing. Wait, he said musical. You don't think dancing is next, right?"

"Is it crazy that it worked?" Cody added, watching the two sides continue to sing uninterrupted, "Maybe it wouldn't hurt to go over there and ask if one of them has a computer?"

The eldest Poi brother volunteered, "Let me go. It's the least I could do after this whole misunderstanding."

"I'll come too," one of the Indian digidestined added, following the boy as he started walking towards the Chinese side. It was nothing short of a miracle - a whole conflict narrowly avoided by one thing after another. And in the end, it all came to nothing as the two sides broke down to sing. Cody and Joe looked between each other, wondering how much of what happened had been the Trickster's intention and how much of it was just coincidence. If they hadn't been here to try and interfere with things, how much of this would have gone horribly wrong?

After some time, the Indian digidestined and the eldest Poi brother returned with a confused Chinese soldier holding what looked to be steel brief case. He set the case down on the ground and opened it to reveal a laptop computer hidden within the metal case. The soldier said, "You kids are brave coming out here with all these monsters."

"Digital Monsters," the Agumon explained. The soldier froze when he heard the digimon speak, smiling from ear to ear in delight, "Amazing. They talk."

"We do a lot more than just talk," the Agumon bragged. The soldier nodded and gestures at the Indian girl and the Poi brother, "I hope being friendly is on that list. These kids said you need a computer?"

Cody ran up to the soldier and turned it around to face the assembled digimon, "That's right! We're going to use it to send them all back to their world."

The soldier nodded, "I suppose that's just as good. Our mission was to come out here and capture some of them, neutralize the rest. But I suppose that would be better. I've seen what some of the commanders want to do and I think it'd be better for these guys to go home."

"Thanks for your help," Cody bowed, "Is everyone ready?"

The assembled digimon gave a great cheer and Cody pointed his digivice at the computer, "Digiport Open!"

There was a bright flash of light and the digimon all disappeared - leaving only the children, their partners, and the soldier staring in wide eyed awe. He sputtered over his words, "What was that? They just disappeared! That's amazing! Aliens! The monsters have got to be aliens! That has to be it! What else could it be?"

While the soldier rattled off to himself excitedly, Cody looked down at his D-Terminal. There had been no answer from the others and that worried him. After a quick look through, he realized his message had never gone through. He looked back down at the soldiers who were singing back and forth at each other, and wondered if The Trickster had something to do with it. Then he looked to the Chinese and Indian digidestined. He hoped the others weren't having as difficult a time as they were.


	43. Digidestined Europe

Tamer and WarGreymon fled as fast as they could with Daemon hot on the pursuit. The digimon growled at them, "You can't run from me forever! Come out and fight me!"

"Are you kidding? That's all we've ever done is run!" Tamer shouted back to taunt their pursuer. Daemon took no joy in that and went after them harder, "You're going to die, Tamer! So stop running and face it! Or is your crest misnamed?"

"If you're trying to taunt like Myotismon, you're not very good at it," WarGreymon pointed out, making the digimon even angrier than before. Having earned Daemon's ire, the mega digimon turned to fight WarGreymon. He threw a punch once he was close enough and WarGreymon parried it with his gauntlet, "I hope you have a plan Tamer, because we could really use one right about now."

Tamer nodded and started plumbing, "Yeah! Plan! Plan...If we open a gate he'll just follow us through so let's...um..."

"TAMER! YOU DID HAVE A PLAN, RIGHT?" WarGreymon roared at the top of his lungs. Tamer shook his head, "Honestly, not for the Daemon Corps. I'm honestly making this all up as I go! Ooh, I know! Take this!"

He spun around mid run to blast a ray of light at Daemon. The demon recoiled away in pain, giving WarGreymon the chance he needed to zoom away with only a small slow down to grab Tamer. Infuriated, Daemon roared at the top of his lungs, "I won't let you escape, Tamer! Not before I see you die!"

"Oh believe me, that won't happen," Tamer retorted with his tongue out. Daemon added, "Your time is coming. We all know it. Your death is imminent. Why not let me help you alone and die by my hands!"

"They're more like claws, really," Tamer observed, amused at his partner's groan, "Plan, Tamer. Do you have one?"

"Yeah! Digiport Open!" Tamer held the digivice out in front of him and opened a tear into the Digital World in front of them. They zipped through quickly, emerging out into a sandy desert with Daemon just behind them. As soon as his horn reached through, Tamer cried out, "Digiport Close!"

It slammed shut in a flash of light leaving them and a severed horn out in the middle of the desert. WarGreymon landed gently on the sandy beaches and observed it, "That had to hurt him."

"He won't be happy about it, I'll say that much," Tamer frowned, turning the horn over in his hand and watching it dissipate to data, "I don't know why he was trying to play Myotismon. It's not like he'd do very good at it."

"How did he know you were dying?" WarGreymon asked his partner, "How did he find out?"

"The better question is, how do we keep him from getting back to the Real World?" Tamer asked, "He followed Dragomon through when he punched a hole in reality. I wonder...Azulongmon! We have to go check on Azulongmon!"

"Tamer!" WarGreymon interrupted, "Do we have time for that?"

"Sixty, maybe seventy years," Tamer answered, "Plenty of time if you ask me."

"You know what I mean," WarGreymon said more sternly. Tamer sighed, knowing where his partner was going and obviously trying to dodge the question. He nodded, "Yes. We do. A couple more days at least. Let's go!"

* * *

Imperialdramon's entry into Russia was not as simple as it should have been. As soon as they crossed into what should've been the border, they were met by two fighter jets that fired missiles. As fast as Imperialdramon was going, losing them should've been a simple affair but these jets easily kept pace with them - overtaking Imperialdramon a few times despite how fast he was flying. The pursuit continued all the way to Moscow with no end in sight. Davis grumbled, "What's their problem? STOP SHOOTING AT US!"

Ken was the most panicked, "Those are Su-47s! Berkuts. Their top speed should only be Mach 1.6. There's no way they should be able to keep up with Imperialdramon!"

"How do you know that?" Yolei asked him, and he guiltily admitted, "I helped come up with the design specifications. But this doesn't make sense. It shouldn't be this fast. And it's still experimental, not in active use!"

"Tell them that," Izzy said, looking down below them to see the city of Moscow. Ken added, "We might be able to get them to stall. They have a design flaw where they lose lift if they turn too hard! Everyone hang on! Imperialdramon! Turn around as sharp as you can then hold it into an upward spiral! If they turn too fast trying to keep up, they'll have to break off!"

"Did you understand that? _Yes I did. You got it Ken! Follow my lead!_ UH OH. I just saw what was on his head. HANG ON!" Imperialdramon shouted, rotating onto his side and turning at full speed in the air to reverse direction. The curve of the turn was wide because of how fast they were going but still sharp enough to make their stomachs turn. Ken looked back to see the planes struggling to follow them. A few times, the pilots broke off their pursuit and sped up to keep from stalling, before correcting their course to continue the pursuit. Ken frowned, "The pilots didn't go for it."

"We don't have time to deal with them," Izzy shouted, looking back at the planes then to the city below. There were still hundreds of digimon loose in the Real World and there was still fighting going on all around them. He glanced in Sora and Yolei's direction, "You two will have to jump!"

"What!?" both girls said at the same time, "Are you crazy?"

"Hawkmon and Biyomon are the fastest flying digimon we have besides Imperialdramon. If you guys jump out, Imperialdramon can lure the jets away. Then Biyomon and Hawkmon digivolve at the last second to catch you guys!" Izzy explained to them quickly. Yolei protested, "Why don't you jump off then? Tentomon can fly!"

"He wants to see Mimi in America," Sora answered, making her way steadily to the edge of Imperialdramon. She looked over at Matt and offered a weak smile, "I'll see you when it's all over."

"Yeah," Matt frowned, looking just a little disappointed. Sora looked back over the edge with her partner, "I really wish this wasn't the first time that I've jumped off a flying digimon."

"At least Tamer's not pushing you this time. Ready, Sora?" Biyomon asked. Sora nodded and closed her eyes shut before jumping, "Here we go!"

The cold bit her face as the wind whipped past as soon as she jumped off. She opened her eyes briefly to see the fighter jets roar past her at high speed. They had completely ignored her and were going after Imperialdramon. Biyomon was just behind her, reaching out with her wing, "Sora! Digivolve me!"

"Yeah, right!" Sora shouted through chattering teeth and pointed her digivice at her partner, praying for the warmth of her flames. With a shining light, Biyomon digivolved to Birdramon and caught hold of Sora before they hit the ground. Above them, they could hear Yolei screaming bloody murder as she fell - Hawkmon diving just beside her as they both descended to the ground. She was in such a panic that she fumbled her digivice as she fell, almost losing it in her panicked state. She held it tight once she had a good hold and held it out to her partner, "Go Hawkmon!"

Hawkmon became Aquilamon in a flash of light and gently caught Yolei on his back. Together, the two bird digimon quietly glided down towards Moscow - seeing a city that was caught up in the panic of digimon appearing out of the blue while the digimon themselves were just as scared and confused about this strange new world. The digimon only calmed when they saw the two flying digimon zoom past over head: Frigimon, Monzaemon, Mammothmon, Mojyamon, and others who seemed suited to the cold weather.

Yolei cursed their luck as they counted more and more digimon below them, wondering just how many they would actually have to help get back into the Digital World. Amidst the chaos, it was hard to tell apart any of the digidestined from the hundreds of panicked people. A quick scan of her digivice indicated three blips on the other side of the city by a river. She called out to Sora, "The digivice says that the other digidestined are across the river!"

"Alright, just lead the way," Sora answered back. She guided them over the panicked city, over a river and beside a library where they saw three children trying to corral a group of Flymon with a Unimon, a Snimon, and a Kuwagamon. Sora pointed them out, "There!"

"That's got to be them," Yolei agreed, "HEY!"

She called out to them and was relieved to see them waving back. It was just as well too, since the swarm of Flymon scattered upon their arrival. One of the girls in the group screamed out in frustration before going to meet them. They disembarked and met their Russian counterparts - a girl with short blonde hair that made her look like a boy, another girl with long hair that ran down to heir waist, and a boy wearing a flat cap so large that his head looked like it would disappear into it. And all of them wore thick winter jackets to protect themselves against the biting winter cold. The boy approached them first, talking rapidly in Russian and making the two girls realize that they had no idea how to communicate with them. The boy seemed to realize this when they didn't respond, and was left just as confused as they were.

Sora smiled, "Okay, you're up Yolei. Show us your Russian."

"Would now be a bad time to say that I only know words for food? Pirozhki, borscht, and caviar," Yolei offered sheepishly, to their dismay. Sora frowned, "Well, at least we'll be able to order food when all this over."

"I tried to tell you but Yolei wouldn't let me," Aquilamon pointed out, "Perhaps it would be best if we introduced ourselves so that we could further friendly relations?"

Thankfully, the short haired Russian girl was already doing just that. She pointed at herself then to her partner, "Anna, Unimon."

She then pointed at the boy, "Yuri, Kuwagamon."

Then at the other girl, "Sonya, Snimon."

Sora realized what was going on and followed along, pointing at herself, "Sora, Birdramon. Yolei, Aquilamon."

The Russian digidestined nodded their understanding. They were at least on a first name basis now, but that didn't mean much when they couldn't communicate with each other. They had to round up all the digimon here in Moscow, and get them back to the Digital World. But the problem remained - they had no way of communicating to each other. They were still at a stand still - and she was powerless to do anything. Just like with Musyamon in Kyoto. She wasn't going to sit back and watch another digimon die. Not again.

She gestured to the Russian digidestined to follow, explaining to them in the hopes that they might get the gist of what she was saying, "We have to round up all the digimon in the city! Then we have to bring them to one place so we can send them all back to the Digital World. I was thinking we'd corral them back here. Then we can use a computer to open a gate back to the Digital World!"

The Russian digidestined stared at her blankly - they'd had no idea what they'd just been told. She groaned, wishing that she had the translation program on Izzy's computer. Then it struck her - they'd been able to understand each other through vague gestures for now. Why wouldn't it work here? She ran from right to left with her arms spread out, "Pirozhki!"

Then from left to right, "Borscht!"

Finally, she slammed her fist into her hand, "Caviar."

They stared back at her blankly and she realized it hadn't set in for them. So she repeated her gestures and words again hoping something would click. Aquilamon raised an eyebrow, "What are you doing Yolei?"

"Hoping that this works," she replied sheepishly, "But I doubt it will. When I say Pirozhki, we fly left. When I say Borscht, we fly right. And when I say Caviar, we circle in and bring it together!"

"And you're hoping they can pick up on that through gesturing?" Birdramon asked quizzically. Yolei frowned, "Do you have a better idea?"

"I don't think any of us do," Aquilamon said. To his astonishment, Anna was the first one to understand and mimed Yolei's gestures, "Pirozhki, Borscht, Caviar."

Yolei nodded, "Yes, she gets it!"

"I didn't think this would work. Sorry for doubting you," Sora said, as Anna began explaining everything to the other Russian digidestined. Once everything was explained, Yolei climbed atop her partner's back and shouted, "Let's go!"

"Do you really expect this to work? I mean, we're relying on them understanding your cues and not something else," Aquilamon pointed out. She frowned at her partner's pessimism and realized this half baked plan she was acting on sounded like something Davis or TK would come up with. It put a small smile on her face before she answered, "We're not going to know if we sit here all day. Let's go!"

"What about the gate back to the Digital World?" Birdramon asked. Sora hated what she was about to say, "We'll take care of it - there's got to be a computer store around here somewhere. We'll just grab one and run!"

"Sora! Stealing? You!?" Birdramon stammered our, "Are you kidding?"

"I'm not thrilled about this either. But we need one to open a gate," Sora said defensively as she grabbed onto Birdramon's leg and the fiery bird took to the air. The Russian digidestined appeared surprised by her sudden departure and Anna ran up to her to talk. However, Yolei had no idea what she was saying and could only gesture for them to follow. They nodded and climbed aboard their partners, following Yolei and Aquilamon as they took to the skies over Moscow.

Below them, the digidestined could see more panic as people and digimon alike continued to cause chaos. Scared digimon ran every which way, leaving accidental damage in their wake while some humans took advantage of the situation to steal and loot. Aquilamon grumbled, "So how are we going to do this, Yolei?"

"Dive down, low enough for the digimon to see us. We'll make a small circle to guide them," Yolei shouted, then gesturing to the others with shouts of Pirozhki, Borscht and Caviar. Aquilamon dove down and the Russian digidestined followed suit, flying low enough for the digimon to hear her as she shouted at them. Anna took the left while Yuri took the right, following close behind Yolei with Sonya taking up the rear to close the circle. A few of them heard her call, and even fewer understood that she was trying to get them to follow her. Thankfully, Unimon, Snimon, and Kuwagamon were able to encourage them to at least start moving in the same the direction. Encouraged, she continued to shout at them in the hopes of getting as many of them to follow as she could.

Yuri said something that Sonya seemed to agree with, but Yolei had no idea what it was. What she knew for certain was that they were suddenly following her lead and calling out with her in Russian. Maybe they'd guessed what she was saying and began following her lead. Either way, more digimon were able to understand them with all of them shouting out.

With every city block they passed, the number of digimon who were following them grew until they had a large crowd of digimon behind them. Yuri called out to Yolei once more in Russian and she simply smiled back cluelessly. Aquilamon asked, "So what now? I think we have every digimon here with us! What do we do now?"

"We turn this parade around and head back to where we started," Yolei answered, just as she heard police sirens behind them. Aquilamon answered, "I don't think we can. That sounds like the police."

As he said it, Yolei noticed a line of police cars coming their way from behind and groaned, "Yeah, crap. Okay, never mind! We turn around and find the biggest clearing we can to send them all back to the Digital World!" Yolei said ecstatically. Aquilamon looked around the massive city and motioned his head towards a massive forest at the edge of the city, "How about there?"

"I like it," Yolei nodded, signaling back at the other digidestined and the digimon following them. As soon as she signaled it out, Birdramon appeared from a nearby street with Sora holding onto one leg and another holding on a large box tight in its claw. Sora shouted, "We had to run from some cops and an angry store owner, but we got the computer! We are never doing that again, by the way."

"I wouldn't think to ask," Yolei gestured at the digimon following just behind them, then motioned to the park. Then she gestured to the Russian digidestined, shouting out her commands and hoping they would go along with it. As they set down in the forest at the edge of the city, they heard sirens and the sounds of police beginning to draw closer. Time was running out for them. Yolei dashed over to Birdramon and hurriedly tore the box open to dig the computer out of it, "We'd better hurry before the police catch up to us."

"Then Birdramon and I will slow them down as best as we can," Sora said, returning to her partner while the Russian digidestined looked lost. Yuri asked her something and Yolei exasperatedly answered, "I'm sorry Yuri! I don't speak Russian! I have no idea what any of you are saying but I'm trying to get a gate open to the Digital World so we can send all the digimon back!"

Yuri said something else loudly at the others, she wasn't sure what, but it led to the others coming along side to help her finish opening the box. Anna called out to the digimon they'd gathered and spoke with them, filling Yolei with the slightest hopes that maybe they did understand what she was doing. At the very least, they might've understood what her intentions were.

As they put the machined together and connected all the cables, Yolei realized she knew this computer as a high end model that'd come out recently. Part of her wanted to take it with them when they were done but she didn't feel comfortable taking something like this either. Then again, Sora had already stolen it and it wasn't like any one would notice it was missing in this mess. She wondered if the others even knew what they had right in front of them - or if they knew how expensive it truly was.

As the sirens grew louder, Yolei could see Birdramon circling the edge of the forest - lighting it on fire with her wings to cut off the police before they could even enter. It was amazing how quickly the prospect of being cooked alive made her work faster and harder than ever to finish preparing the computer. As soon as she finished, she ushered Yuri away and told the remaining digimon to encircle the computer. She raised her digivice and called out, "Digiport Open!"

Her digivice brought the computer to life and a bright light absorbed every digimon there who wasn't part of their team. She did a double or check to make sure they were gone and called out to Sora, "Okay! They're gone! Let's go!"

Then she turned to the Russian digidestined and gestured while explaining, "Lets get out of here while the police are distracted by the fire!"

Once again, it seemed the Russian digidestined understood without speaking a single word. Once again they mounted their partners, with Yolei pausing to lug the big computer with her to Aquilamon's dismay, "What are we doing, Yolei?"

"Are you kidding!? This bad boy is high end! No way I'm leaving it here!" she said with a smile.

Aquilamon sighed, "But Yolei. You know what? Forget it."

Then they took to the air. As they departed the city, Yolei and Aquilamon looked back one more time and saw the first of the fire crews arrive to try and put out the fires.

* * *

When Imperialdramon arrived in Paris, no one was expecting the city to be as calm as it was. It was the early morning hours in Paris when they dropped off Matt, Gabumon, Kari, and Gatomon. Davis wanted to protest, but realized that he needed to stay with Ken so they could move as Imperialdramon. And they needed a digidestined who could open the gate here. He hated the idea of Kari going off with another guy, especially TK's older brother. Still - at least he could be sure that Matt wasn't going to make a move on her.

Once they were gone, Kari asked, "So what do we do now? There should be digimon everywhere but I don't see a thing."

"No idea. Come on, let's go find a find a pay phone," Matt answered, starting to walk down the street, "There's got to be one around here...somewhere."

"What for, Matt?" Gabumon chased after his partner with Kari and Gatomon in tow. Matt turned around mid walk to explain while going backwards, "My grandpa on my mom's side lives here."

"You're French?" Kari gasped in surprise. She knew Matt and TK were different because of their natural blonde hair. She never would've guessed French as their background. Matt waved it off, "No, no. My grandpa moved here. I think my mom is technically American because she speaks English. But her last name is Takaishi so…you've got me. Anyway, yeah. I'm just going to give him a call real quick so that he can help us out."

"How is your grandfather going to help? And is it a good idea to have him meet us?" Gatomon asked seriously, "I mean, people don't usually have the best of impressions when they meet us."

"True, but we need someone who speaks French. Unless you've somehow learned how to speak it in the last couple of minutes," Matt joked, "Parlez-vous français?"

"You speak French too?" Kari's jaw fell open in disbelief. Matt had a good laugh, "Non, seulement cette question et cette phrase pour expliquer. That means: no, only that question and this sentence to explain. I figured it would be funny to use if I ever met someone who only spoke French."

"For someone who calls out Tamer for being mean rude, that's pretty mean Matt," Gabumon frowned. Matt countered, "I don't plan on doing it while we save the world."

"Then what was that just now?" Gatomon asked. Matt paused, stopping in his tracks with a stunned look as he realized that he had just done something Tamer would've. The sheer revulsion he felt could only be remedied by a face palm, "I really hope that doesn't mean he's rubbed off on me. It's bad enough that he rubbed off on TK."

"Wow, phrasing," Gatomon winced in disbelief while Kari turned her head, "What do you mean?"

"Pay phone!" Matt said quickly to stop Gatomon from replying, "Let's go find a payphone!"

They found one not too far, near an open air cafe that was closed in the early morning hours. After a quick phone call, Matt returned to them with his hands in pockets and admitted, "So…grandpa is still awake, don't ask why. He's on his way and he'll help us out while we find all the digimon here in Paris, as well as meet up with the Parisian digidestined. So, I'd say we've got a four in five chance that he shows up."

"What about the last one?" Gabumon shivered in the cold, "I hope he shows up soon, it's freezing."

"You're wearing a fur coat. We've all got coats on!" Gatomon countered, while Gabumon continued to shiver, "That doesn't mean I'm not cold."

"That could be by we haven't seen a single digimon here," Kari reasoned, looking up and down the empty streets, "There should be digimon everywhere. They must all be hiding to get out of the cold."

"You'd think that they would've picked a warmer time of year to do all of this," Gabumon grumbled. They turned their heads down the street when they heard the roar of an engine and saw a single head light coming their way on the empty streets. As it drew closer, they realized it was a motorcycle and Gabumon frowned, "Hey, Matt. Your grandfather owns a car right?"

"No, just a motorcycle," Matt answered for them as an old Brough Superior rolled to a stop in front of them. On board was an old man in thick leather winter clothes and a scarf wrapped around his face. He waved at them upon seeing them and lowered the scarf to reveal the spitting image of Matt if he'd aged fifty years in one go, "Bonjour, mon petit-fils. How is my oldest grandson?"

"Hey grandpa. I'm good," Matt hugged the older look alike warmly before introducing the rest of their group, "This is Gabumon, Kari, and Gatomon."

"The pleasure is all mine," the older man took Kari's hand and kissed it gently, making the girl blush, "So this is the girl that dear TK talks about. That poor boy deserves to be scolded for mistreating such a lovely thing."

"Oh great, now his family's getting in on it," Gatomon frowned. The old man's eyes widened with delight, "They talk too! That is a delightful change compared to them always screaming and growling at me! Gatomon, is it? That is delightful! Did you know that's Spanish for cat?"

"Grandpa, we really need to take care of all the digimon," Matt reminded the old man, "Where are they?"

The old man frowned, "The news told everyone to stay inside while the police and the army dealt with it. They were rounding the monsters up and taking them to the Eiffel Tower."

"Why the Eiffel Tower?" Kari asked, answered with a silent shrug.

"What's the Eiffel Tower?" Gabumon turned his head sideways and the old man pointed at an old, wireframe tower in the distance, "That is. She is the beautiful! The original! Many have tried to copy it, but there stands the pride of Paris!"

"We should probably get over there then," Matt called out for them. They clamored onto the motorcycle, Matt climbing on back while Gatomon and Gabumon sat on Kari's lap in the side car. His grandfather drove like a mad man through the streets, driving so fast that they were all too scared to let go of the motorcycle and worried they'd fly off every time they turned. They would've easily taken flying on Imperialdramon while he was chased by the Russian jets than ride with Matt's grandfather ever again.

And thankfully, it stopped when they encountered a roadblock not too far from their tower's base - a military transport vehicle blocking the road while armed soldiers stood by on guard. Upon seeing them, one of the soldiers began directing them in French to leave - gesturing back down the road while the other guard tensed up. Then he noticed Gabumon and Biyomon, promptly raising his rifle. On seeing this, Matt's grandfather revved his motorcycle as the soldier shouted before. As soon as he drove away, shots began to ring out behind them, "They noticed your friends and wanted us to hand them over."

"We have to get in there though," Gabumon frowned, "How else are we going to get to the digimon?"

"This is France! We use the sewers of course!" his grandfather answered with more pride than he reasonably should have. Kari frowned, "The sewers? You're kidding!"

"Never," his grandfather pointed to them as he stopped the motorcycle in front of a restaurant. He urged them off as he killed the engine and rolled into a nearby alley, urging them to be quiet as soldiers raced past on a jeep. Once they were sure the troops were gone, he led them out into the open street and slid the lid off a man hole, "The smell won't be pleasant but we can get behind the guards - just like the resistance during the war, we'll sneak around down there and catch them with their pants down!"

"I hope they didn't actually catch anyone with their pants down," Gabumon's nose wrinkled because of the smell. He slapped Matt's back, "After you."

"Never thought we'd do this again. Well, here goes nothing," Matt closed his eyes and covered his nose before climbing down the ladder to get into the foul smelling tunnel. They all reluctantly followed him in, his grandfather going in last so that he could close the lid behind them, "Okay, so all we have to do is follow the tunnel back that way and exit back out into the street."

"How do you know where the sewers go grandpa?" Matt wondered as the older man led the way, "I learned all I could about this city when your grandmother moved us here. I thought it was important that I know as much as possible about our new home."

That was hardly a satisfactory explanation.

"Also, I'm getting into this new thing called urban exploration and parkour," he added, also not realizing that this was somehow less satisfactory, "Now then, let's go help your friends."

They marched for what felt like an eternity with the rancid smell of waste accompanying them everywhere they went. They were desperate to get out of the sewer as soon as they found the right exit, but Matt's grandfather had them wait while he went to make sure it was safe. Still, they couldn't wait and followed him up the ladder anyway to get some breath of fresh air. Once he gave the all clear, they all clamored out of the sewer and towards the Eiffel Tower. Part of it was to get off the street as soon as they could but the reality was they just needed to get as far from that sewer entrance as possible.

"I'm going to have to wash my clothes forever to get the smell off," Kari frowned. Gatomon shook herself off and whimpered, "How do you think I feel? Do you know how many baths I'm going to have to take? I hate water!"

"Keep it down guys," Matt shushed them as they made their way towards a large open field of grass in the middle of the city that marked the entrance to the Eiffel Tower. Soldiers surrounded the entire field, using tanks and other vehicles to keep a large group of digimon trapped inside. The digimon grew restless as they sat in the middle of the field, larger ones pacing up and down the perimeter in search of any weaknesses in the perimeter. Warning shots were fired at any digimon getting too close to the edge, sending the message loud and clear - they were here as prisoners. Seeing this, they took cover in a nearby alley while Kari gasped, "Why would they do this?"

"Better question: How could they get all these digimon together so quickly? And how did they get a handle on this situation faster than literally any other place we've been to?" Gatomon asked, "It took us all night to get a handle on things in Tokyo, yeah, but we knew what we were doing. It's like they knew the digimon were coming."

"Yeah, that's a good point," Matt's grandfather agreed, "Perhaps they were prepared for this? After all, there was quite a stir the last time this happened."

"Last time? You mean years ago when the Digital World appeared in the sky?" Kari asked. Matt's grandfather nodded, "Yes. It was on the news for a while then interest seemed to die out. Maybe the military never stopped worrying this would happen. It's unfortunate but there are no sewer entrances near the tower. If you want to help those digimon, you'll need to get past all the armed guards. Perhaps those French digidestined you spoke of could help?"

"Yeah, but where are they? We still haven't run into any of them anywhere," Kari said before she remembered her digivice, "Wait…hang on. If I remember right, Izzy said something about using these digivices. Let's see…and…here."

After fiddling with the buttons and settings, she found a screen that indicated two red dots where she and Matt were. And a cluster of other red dots at one point on the other side of the perimeter. Then there was a single lone red dot just ahead of them in the middle of the digimon gathered at the Eiffel Tower. They were in there, captured just like the rest of the digimon. She frowned, "It says they're being held captive inside. But…why would they do that? They're kids!"

"Precautionary measure," a man's voice behind them said. Everyone jumped at once as they turned around to see a man in a sharp black suit over an orange dress shirt beside them. Hearing Japanese was startling enough in France but to see it coming from another blonde haired, blue eyed man was off putting. It took a moment for them to realize, but they'd seen this man before…a long time ago. And he hadn't aged a day since then. He smiled at them, "Hey there. Hokage, at your service."

"We've seen you before," Kari murmured. He nodded, patting her head, "Yeah, got you your crest back during the last digimon invasion. You've gotten taller. And cuter."

"Hey, back off!" Matt's grandfather warned, "She is a child!"

"I was just stating a fact. It's not like I asked her to give me a call in a couple of years," Hokage answered, still smiling cheekily.

"You're that guy who died but didn't!" Gatomon blurted out in surprise. He covered her mouth with his hand and shushed, "Glad to see you remember."

"What are you doing here?"

"My team and I were working a case at a boarding school. Found a warehouse with a super computer inside. A lot of people saw what you kids did years ago: the Digital World in the sky and monsters pouring out into this world," he explained, "So everyone's been trying to get ready for the next time it happens: making new weapons, creating defensive strategies, running training drills - anything to defend themselves. My team and I have been working round the clock ever since to keep tabs on it all and make sure no one does anything stupid with technology they shouldn't have. We were about to go back to Japan when all of this happened. Then we got stranded - had to clean this mess up before we could head back. We were about to head in when we saw you guys so I thought I'd check in. Tell me you have a plan."

"Well, we were trying to get the digimon back to the Digital World. But we need a computer to do that. And we also need a way to get to all those digimon," Gabumon explained. Hokage nodded his understanding, "Simple. I like it. It's a lot better than our plan of kill them all."

"You were going to kill them!?" Kari blurted out in anger at Hokage, only to have her mouth covered as well. His smile turned cold as he added, "You trying to get us noticed? I'll level with you: we don't really have anyway to send them back and we don't have the resources to contain or transport them back to Japan. Not to mention, I'm not about to allow the French to keep a hold of any of them - who knows what they'll do. If you think about it: killing them is probably the _nicest_ thing to do to them."

"It's not right," Gatomon hissed at him. Hokage's cold smile stayed there, "Down, kitty. Like I said, that was the plan until we saw you guys. We can draw the soldiers away for a while. Afterwards, it'll be on you to get those digimon back to their world and for you guys to get out of dodge. Can you do that?"

"Only if you swear you're not going to kill anyone," Kari grit her teeth at the man. The man's cold smile became dangerous, amused by this little girl standing up to him for even mentioning the idea of killing. Her expression soured further when he asked a simple question back, "And how many have you killed to keep the peace?"

"That's-" Kari was about to answer but was interrupted when he pressed a finger against her lips to stop her again. It seemed the question was rhetorical but she hadn't killed anyone. At least, not as long as evil digimon weren't counted. But that didn't make her bad, right? She was doing it to save the world! Hokage pulled his finger away and said, "Don't. I'm not here to argue philosophy or ethics with you. I'm here to do my job: save the world. When you hear the first explosion, count to thirty. Then it should be safe for you to head in."

He winked at her, then took off back down the street. He moved a lot faster than he seemed he should have been able to and ran into an alley, leaping onto the wall of a nearby building and kicking off it to an adjacent wall. He did this zigzag jumping until he was on the roof and disappeared. Gabumon's mouth fell open, "Is he a ninja or something?"

"Or something is right," Gatomon grumbled, folding her arms in frustration. Barely a moment passed before they heard an explosion in the distance, followed by a pillar of smoke rising over the nearby rooftops. Kari quickly began counting in her head, scared about whatever the man named Hokage was doing. The French soldiers were alerted and began moving towards the smoke, with a handful staying behind to protect the perimeter. Then gunfire followed, pulling more soldiers away from the considerably thin defensive line and leaving only one man to guard the side of the perimeter they were on. By the time Kari counted to thirty, that last soldier ran from his post to go help the rest of the soldiers. The path was clear and Matt shouted, "Let's go!"

They ran as fast as they could towards the open field, their feet matching the sounds of gun fire and explosions in the distance. The sound only died down once they were close enough to actually see the field where the digimon were, and they were greeted by many panicked digimon looking ready to make a run for the exit - Vegiemon, G azimon, Elecmon, Kiwimon, Mamemon, and others all looked ready to leave until they were calmed by a blonde haired girl in a long, flowing red winter dress. With her was a small, plant like digimon whose head resembled a closed flower bud - a Floramon.

Her calls for calm ended the moment she saw Matt and his grandfather running their way. She asked something in French and Matt's grandfather explained, "She said she wants to know where, and I think I might've misheard, a Digimon Tamer is."

"Want to try your French on her Matt?" Gabumon asked snidely while Kari answered, "Tell her that we're here to help since he's not here."

While Matt's grandfather began translating, they could hear the gun fire moving further away. Gatomon's ear twitched as each shot echoed, "Whatever they're doing, it doesn't sound like they're winning."

They brought their attention back to Matt's grandfather, "Her name is Catherine Deneuve and her partner is Floramon. They were trying to meet up with the other French digidestined when she was picked up by the soldiers and brought here. She says she was able to hide her digivice in her hair but that the others weren't as lucky. They were waiting for the right time to use it but couldn't with the soldiers surrounding them."

"They have the other digivices? But without that, the others can't digivolve!" Gabumon frowned. Kari opened her digivice and began scanning for the cluster of red dots she'd seen earlier, "Don't worry, we'll find it."

On her digivice's screen she found three red dots where they were standing and a cluster of them in the direction of the gun fire. Her heart sank as she thought of having to go anywhere near the fighting and that horrible Hokage, especially with how open he was with the idea of killing. As she shuddered at the idea. Catherine began talking and Matt's grandfather translated, "She says we should send the digimon back and then worry about the other digivices."

"Right, grandpa, your laptop!" Matt said. His grandfather cluelessly retrieved the machine from within his jacket and opened it up. Catherine called for the digimon to gather round the small screen so that Kari could open the gate. The digimon disappeared in a dazzling display of white light, clearing the field outside the Eiffel Tower. Once the digimon were all gone, Kari breathed a sigh of relief - at least they were out of this mess.

Now it was a matter of getting the other digivices back and finding the rest of the French digidestined. She looked Catherine's way and offered a smile, "So, let's go get those digivices back."

Matt's grandfather translated and she nodded back with a huge smile. They hurried back out towards the fighting, which had moved about a block away from the Eiffel Tower. The soldiers had moved several vehicles and tanks there to try and reinforce their line but they had all been destroyed. Whatever Hokage and his team were doing, it was likely frustrating the French forces at their inability to actually do anything about it. Scattered around the streets were dead soldiers, and a few screaming out in pain as their allies tried to move them out of harm's way. As

"Running in there would be a bad idea," Matt pointed out just as another soldier ran out from cover to reposition, only for his leg to be blown off at the knee. He fell on the ground screaming in pain, "And whoever they have on their side is a great shot."

Gabumon countered, "We have to get in there though. Leaving any of the digivices in their hands would be worse."

"Yeah, we need to go back and get the digivices," Kari agreed, looking in the direction of the gun fire. She shuddered at the thought of whatever these soldiers would do if they ever actually figured out how to use the digivices. They might do to the Digital World what Myotismon did here. There was no doubt in her mind. They had to go back and get the digivices.

She took out her digivice and pointed it at her partner, "Let's go!"

"Right behind you," Matt added. They both turned to Catherine who seemed to understand what they were doing. Matt's grandfather was at a loss, "So, what's happening?"

"Gatomon! Digivolve to! Angewomon!"

"Gabumon! Digivolve to! Garurumon!"

"Floramon! Digivolve à! Kiwimon!"

Garurumon, Kiwimon, and Angewomon raced forward into the gun fire. Their partners followed just behind them, unwilling to sit back while their partners ran into danger. The soldier turned around as soon as they saw them coming. With them was a uniformed officer shouting orders, looking like he was about to tell the soldiers to shoot. That is, until he saw Angewomon. The moment he laid eyes on her, he shouted something and the soldiers threw their weapons on the ground. Some even bent their knees and clasped their hands together in prayers.

Angewomon turned her heady, "Okay, this is not what I expected. What's happening?"

"I've seen this before," Garurumon answered, "It happened years back when Myotismon attacked. Anyone who saw Angemon started praying for some reason."

The commanding officer took off his hat and took a few steps in their direction, a look of astonishment on his face as he tried to process what he was looking at. Of course, it only took one look at his face for Kari to realize that he wasn't thinking of this as a visit from the divine. She sighed and looked down at her digivice to confirm where the red dots were. A few feet in front of here, where the officer was standing. He had them. Without a moment's hesitation, she ran up to him and held out her hand, "Give back the digivices."

He broke his gaze away from Angewomon to see this girl and mumbled something in French. Matt's grandfather had to translate what she'd said and the officer's expression became bemused, grumbling something else. Matt's grandfather translated, "He says that he doesn't take orders from old men and little girls."

"Does he take orders from me!?" Angewomon nocked an arrow in her bow and readied to fire. The few soldiers who weren't praying picked up their guns but even then they didn't raise their weapons. A few of the soldiers who had been praying had no problem doing that, but oddly aimed it at the commanding officer and the soldiers who hadn't been praying. Kari blinked at the sight in front of her, "What's happening?"

"I don't know," Matt answered, "But...I mean, hey. At least their on our side."

One of the soldiers shouted something, a small argument broke out amongst their ranks. Catherine gasped out in shock, and Kari looked back at Matt's grandfather, "What's happening."

The old man shifted uncomfortably, "The soldiers are saying they're not ready to be judged, not when they haven't been absolved of their sins or something. Wait, no. That one said, they're going to hell because of what the commander made them do. He...my god. They shot at kids!"

"What!?" Kari turned around in horror as she looked back at the commanding officer. The officer looked back and forth between the digidestined and the angel aiming its arrow at him. Then at the soldiers pointing their weapons at him. He sighed and raised up his hands up in surrender. Kari looked at him sternly, "What do they mean by shot kids?"

Matt's grandfather translated for Kari, then for the commanding officer as he answered, "The kids were with monsters. They refused to surrender or cooperate. When they turned hostile, he gave the command to shoot the kids. They weren't killed - non lethal shots. They took them to a nearby hospital to recover and confiscated anything they had on them not from this world. The monsters surrendered willingly after that and were detained at the base of the Eiffel Tower."

Kari had never felt so angry - her blood seem to run cold and she could hear a faint voice in the back of her head calling to her. _Curse the wretches, the wrath of master upon them. Blasphemous murderers, blood crazed fiends. Atonement!_ She shook her head and said, "Give me the digivices."

Matt's grandfather didn't have to translate that. The soldier lowered one hand for a pouch on his belt and retrieved a handful of digivices. He set them on the ground and kicked them her way before backing away slowly with her hand over her head. Kari put the digivices away in her pocket, then asked the question she wanted to know, "Which hospital did the other kids get sent to?"

Matt's grandfather translated Kari's question and the officer's response, "One nearby - Saint-Louis Hospital."

Kari breathed a sigh of relief. The French digidestined were alive - hurt, but alive. That was good enough for her. She backed away from the officer slowly, "Don't follow us."

As soon as she turned around, she heard gunfire start again and ran as fast as she could. She looked back once to see the French soldiers had gone back to fighting Hokage and whoever else he was with. As much as she wanted to do something about it, he'd just helped them save all the digimon. And knowing that these soldiers had just shot at kids - it was safe to say that the thought of these soldiers dying had become less of a problem. For now, they had to think of a place where they could hide out until Imperialdramon came back.


	44. Digidestined America

Imperialdramon zoomed over the Atlantic at break neck speed, parting the water briefly with the force of his speed. They were certain they'd get to New York City in no time. Izzy typed away at his D-Terminal to let Mimi know they were on their way, only to receive a prompt reply that Michael would meet them at the airport and she would meet them later on. Izzy was disheartened by this information and was unable to get Mimi to answer why.

Unfortunately for Mimi, this meant her D-Terminal kept going off whenever Izzy sent her a message. She sat in the back seat of her dad's car, holding onto Palmon tight as she could while they made their way through the city. Her dad slammed on the horn regularly, cursing the traffic for not moving faster despite being in a stand still longer than he wanted to.

As soon as the first digimon appeared in Manhattan, everyone tried to get out of the city - everyone in their cars and all heading for the major interstates. This created the largest traffic jam imaginable as the roads were clogged. Making it worse was the US military's quick deployment as troops surrounded the city to contain the digimon. Navy ships pulled into the bay, cordoning off the sea while tanks blocked all the major roads in and out of the city.

Mimi peered out the window as helicopters whirred overhead, scouting the area for the military. They're hadn't been any major engagements which meant they were likely still planning what to do. Her dad growled as traffic seemed to come to a stand still, "Dammit. We left Japan to get away from all this. And it just followed us all the way out here."

Mimi took a deep breath, trying to remain calm as her father groaned and cursed, "What do all these monsters want with us anyway? Why do they keep coming here!? WHY CAN'T THEY JUST LEAVE US ALONE! EVEN THAT THING SHOWED UP!"

Mimi bit her tongue angrily as she saw her father's gaze drift through the rear view mirror at Palmon. She hugged her partner tighter to show her dad that her partner was important to her. This didn't stop his complaining. It did stop when he saw a large orange toad digimon walk by just in front of them - ShogunGekomon. The large digimon looked around, obviously confused about what was going on, and grumbled before continuing on. Seeing him was enough to make Mimi gasp and she hopped out of the car right away with Palmon, "ShogunGekomon!?"

"Is that you?" her plant partner asked.

"Get back in the car! Mimi! Get back here!" her dad commanded, hopping out of the car after her. She ignored him and ran after the large toad, calling out for him as he continued walking away. Eventually, he stopped and spun around to look at Mimi and Palmon with a delighted smile, "Finally! A familiar face and a lovely voice! Mimi. Palmon. Where am I?"

"New York City in the Real World," Mimi answered, her partner joining her side excitedly to say, "What are you doing here ShogunGekomon? Don't tell us you fell into the Real World too!"

ShogunGekomon crossed his arms and closed his eyes, "I'm not entirely sure what happened. I was in my court room attending to some music. Then there was a bright flash of light and the next thing I know, I'm here. Then people started screaming and running away from me. This one human ran up to me with a gun and shouted something but i had no idea what he was saying. So I just walked away. Oh look, there he is now. And it looks like he has friends."

Mimi and Palmon turned around to see a group of police officers carrying assault rifles advancing up the street in their direction. She asked, "ShogunGekomon, where exactly did you land?"

"I don't know. It looked like a large crater," ShogunGekomon answered sheepishly, "Kind of an odd place in the middle of the city. I almost thought Kimeramon was attacking again. Why?"

The former site of the World Trade Center and its ruins. ShogunGekomon had landed right in the middle of that - it was no wonder he was being chased by police. With her father still shouting, Mimi turned back to ShogunGekomon, "Run! Get out of here before they get you!"

"What about you?" ShogunGekomon asked the girl worriedly. She began pushing on him, "I'll be fine! Palmon! Doll!"

"On it!" Palmon stiffened up and fell over right away, landing flat on her back and laying still like a doll. With another push, ShogunGekomon finally started moving and stomped further down the street before rounding a corner. The police shouted after him, urging everyone to stay in their cars or to get back inside while they took care of the large digimon. Mimi picked up Palmon and ran into the nook of a store entrance, trying not to draw attention to themselves as the police ran past. Everyone of them ran by Mimi and Palmon, but she waited a second longer before stepping out of the nook of the store to make sure they were gone. They had continued on after ShogunGekomon like he was King Kong, but hadn't started shooting yet. There were probably too many people for them to risk firing like crazy. Then she felt her father's hand spin her around and he glowered at her, "What are you doing!? Mimi! Get back in the car!"

"No dad," Mimi pulled her shoulder free of him, "I'm not getting back in the car!"

"Yes, you are!" he growled, "I'm not letting you-"

"Do anything!" she interrupted, "I don't get it! You say you're protecting me but all you've done is lock me up in the apartment all day! And then you're surprised that I'm always sneaking out and leaving without telling you!"

"It's a phase," he countered, "You'll grow out of it."

Mimi stamped her foot, "No dad, that's not it at all. You've been sheltering and coddling me ever since mom died! And all you've done is make me hate you!"

That last part gave him pause as he finally seemed willing to listen to his daughter, "I get it...you've been scared of losing me the same way. But all you're doing is pushing me further away. You keep trying to protect me and for what? Because you're scared I'll die? I could slip in the shower and break my neck and all your protection would've done no good! Heck, I might accidentally spill some oil and catch fire in the kitchen! I don't know!"

She paused to catch her breath while her father stood there in stunned disbelief. Then she went on, "This...all this. This is what I'm supposed to be stopping. This is what I ran to Japan with Michael for - to help stop this. And you...you just dragged me back and now...all this. It didn't follow us dad. It happened because you wouldn't let me do what I had to! Stop trying to protect me. Stop stopping me from what I have to do."

"I just wanted to keep you safe," her dad offered.

"No, you just can't deal with the fact that mom is dead!" she finally snapped, "You didn't leave Tokyo because you wanted to protect me. You left Tokyo because too much of that place reminded you of her! But she's gone dad! She's dead. I dealt with it...I moved on! But you...you didn't."

His expression turned blank now, like he'd been decked in the face made all the worse that it came from his own daughter. She frowned and looked away from her dad, "You haven't been protecting or helping me. I've been the one helping you because you haven't been able to deal with it. I was hoping you'd just...realize this at some point but you haven't."

"Honey, I have dealt with it," her dad tried to reason only to be met with an angry, "No dad. You haven't. That's why you took the job in America and brought me out here with you. You didn't want to lose me but all you did was manage to drive me away from you. I...I hate what you're doing...what you've become."

"Mimi," he tried to begin but she stamped her foot, "I have to go help my friends. Let's go Palmon."

Mimi turned and ran after ShogunGekomon, while her partner lingered just a second longer to talk to her dad. She noticed that the man flinched the moment she spoke but she tried to ignore it, "Mimi really cares about her friends, y'know. And she cares about you, too. Her crest was sincerity after all. So I would listen to what she says if I were you. Also, I'd sit tight if I were you - it might get dangerous soon. See ya!"

She gave a wave and raced after Mimi as she rushed down the street towards ShogunGekomon and the officers who were chasing him. As she ran, she heard the crack of thunder overhead and a strong gust of wind.

* * *

BlackWarGreymon drifted for the longest time aimlessly, wandering from one corner of the Digital World to another. Through forest and plain, jungle and tundra, swamp and desert. And through it all, he simply ignored everything in his past. There were a few larger, or perhaps stupid would've been a better word, digimon who openly challenged him. When he ignored them, they charged. And when he threw them aside, their bravery turned to cowardice.

All the while, he contemplated upon Azulongmon's words. What was the point of his existence? What else was there for him to do other than fighting? What was the reason he existed. As he wandered, lost, he found a fiery haired boy and a WarGreymon walking his way bickering. He recognized the power of that WarGreymon and stopped as they walked past him, "You! You're that Agumon, aren't you?"

WarGreymon stopped in his tracks, "BlackWarGreymon? Huh, didn't expect to see you in a while."

BlackWarGreymon eyed the boy curiously, recalling that the Agumon couldn't achieve his full power on his own, "Who is this?"

"Hi there! I'm The Digimon Tamer!" the boy waved stupidly. BlackWarGreymon continued to eye the boy curiously, wondering just who or what he was. Was he like the digidestined? No, there was something different. An energy that the others didn't have. He felt digital - like a digimon. But that wasn't it either. What was it?

...

Just over New York City, Imperialdramon fled from a full squadron of F-15 Eagles that had been pursuing him since they passed over the bay area. When they were far over the city, they freely fired their missiles and used whatever maneuvers they could to encircle the Mega. Now that they were over New York, they knowingly limited themselves to firing controlled bursts from their guns and trying to maneuver the massive digimon away from the city.

"Don't these guys let up?" Davis cursed angrily as they continued fleeing from the fighter jets. Ken frowned, "We're invading US airspace. They probably want us out."

"Literally no one else shot at us besides the Russians!" Davis roared out in frustration, "What gives!?"

"This is a country that's been on high alert ever since the World Trade Center!" Ken retorted, "Either way, we have to get to the airport!"

"And where is the airport!?" Davis screamed at the top of his lungs as they continued over the city, looping around the central island of Manhattan. Ken pointed off in the distance, "South east corner of the city, in Queens!"

"Queens?" Imperialdramon repeated, "I have to land inside a queen?"

"No, the borough is called Queens!" Davis explained, leading to more confusion from Imperialdramon, "What do rabbits have to do with this?"

"Nothing!" Ken stated, gesturing towards the south east, "We're going to the airport. Go!"

"What about the jets!?" Tentomon looked back at the jets that continued to pursue them. Davis once again demonstrated his ability to astound them, "Get to the airport, then head for the clouds! We're going to do what we did in Russia!"

"Davis, our digimon can't catch us when they're still Imperialdramon!" Ken reasoned, realizing what Davis was thinking and knowing how insane the plan was. Davis held out his digivice, "They're not going to be Imperialdramon when they catch us. They'll turn back into ExVeemon and Stingmon, then they'll catch us!"

"That's now how it works!" Ken shouted, pausing to think on how Davis had made the improbable happen before. He relented, "If we get killed, I'm making sure I haunt you!"

"Okay, then it's a plan," Imperialdramon shouted as they passed over the city, hurrying in the direction Ken indicated until they could make out a large building surrounded by grounded airplanes. They circled it a few times before finding a large cloud drifting their way. Once Davis pointed it out, Imperialdramon ascended with the jets still right behind him - firing their guns and trying to avoid stray shots. Once they were lost in the clouds, they waited for the roar of the jets as they passed before jumping off Imperialdramon's back into a free fall. Izzy was the quickest, digivolving his partner into Kabuterimon. Davis and Ken acted in unison, using their digivices to dedigivolve their partner to Paildramon - then again to ExVeemon and Stingmon. The three digimon grabbed hold of their partners and dove straight to the ground, hoping to go unnoticed by the jets that were pursuing them or the control tower watching the skies.

They looked up once to see the jets emerge from the other side of the cloud and circle back around to find them. Their partners were a lot smaller in these forms, and a lot harder to see visually. Hopefully, that would be enough to make them harder to spot as the jets roared past before breaking off in different directions. Ken breathed a sigh of relief, "I think that means we lost them."

"Awesome!" ExVeemon shouted, "So what's the plan now?"

"Mimi said Michael would meet us at the airport but that's sort of vague if you think about it. I mean, where exactly are we meeting him?" Izzy stated matter of factly. ExVeemon gestured towards a private jet taxiing out of a personal hangar and a boy waving at them from beside it, "I think it means that."

"The guy has his own private jet? Okay, who is Michael and what gives?" Davis demanded as they reached the ground beside him. Michael ran to greet, "Hey! Glad to see you could make it!"

"Yeah," Davis nodded, noticing an adult man step off the plane in a way that made him question his entire outlook on life up until that point. Davis blink a few times to make sure he wasn't hallucinating the man before him - a tall, muscular man with golden hair combed back dressed in a suit that outlined his frame well. Davis pointed at the man in disbelief, "Michel J Barton!?"

"Hey there!" The man waved at them enthusiastically, "You must be the friends that Michael was telling me about. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

"Davis, you know this guy?" ExVeemon asked, prompting Davis to go on a ranting tirade, "Know him? I've seen every single one of his movies! This guy is an acting legend! Back to the Past! Oklahoma Smith and the Last Hurrah! Operation: Inconceivable! Letters of Love! This guy is my hero! Action! Adventure! Some romance but who cares about that? Oh, he even did a comedy once where he was President. I think it was Terror Film 2?"

"His Japanese is surprisingly good," Izzy pointed out, leading to further excitement from Davis, "I know, right? He doesn't just do his own stunts, he actually redoes every scene for every language his movie is being filmed in! French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Swahili! This guy is awesome!"

"You'd think some of that hero worship would make you try harder at studying and learning," Ken jabbed at Davis playfully. Davis smirked, "Are you kidding? I can totally do all my own stunts! Have you seen my soccer kicks? I'm awesome!"

"After you guys tell parents about your digimon, I decided to do the same and tell my dad," Michael explained to them. Izzy paused when he heard him, "Your Japanese has improved."

"Thanks," Michael beamed proudly while his dad added, "Yeah, I've been taking the time to educate my son whenever I get the chance. After his little escapade off to Japan with that girl, I thought I'd lend him a hand. Y'know, win her over by helping him learn the language."

Izzy's face became bright red with jealousy but he refrained from saying anything as he asked, "So where's Mimi?"

"She's with her dad in city. They trying to leave Manhattan and go to Brooklyn but army slow everything down. We go to her to open gate back to Digital World. Dad said he take rest to Mexico to help out there," Michael added sheepishly. Davis patted Ken's back, "Have fun there buddy."

Michael jumped at the opportunity, "And I come too! Mi español es mejor que mi japonés."

"Bueno," Ken smiled gleefully while Davis groaned and threw his hands up in frustration, "Okay, can we not do that? I have a hard enough time following the English! I don't want try to keep up with a third language."

"We should hurry into the city," Izzy stated excitedly, happier to see Michael going to Mexico than he wanted to let on and patted Kabuterimon's leg. He looked to Davis, "Lead the way Davis, your D-3 has the key to the gate."

"Then we're on our way to Mexico," Ken nodded, "Good luck guys!"

ExVeemon and Kabuterimon took off right away with Davis and Izzy, while the rest of them boarded the private jet. As Michael's dad began the take off procedure, Ken couldn't help but wonder how they were going to even get this plane off the ground with those jets in the sky, "Are we even going to be able to take off? Those jets earlier were trying their hardest to shoot us down."

Michael's dad winked at him, "Don't worry, I'm no ace pilot but I did learn a thing or two during my movies. Besides, those guys at air traffic control have grounded every flight and redirected the ones in the air to smaller airports outside the city. The skies will be clear and those jets aren't going to shoot down a private airline."

That was hardly a reassurance in Ken's mind but he buckled himself in to his seat in the back while Michael's dad taxied them onto the runway and prepared for take off.

* * *

Mimi followed ShogunGekomon all the way to Central Park where he'd decided to sit in one of ponds to take a break while the police officers moved in to surround him. They ordered him to surrender, but he just stared at them in silence. Half because he was annoyed that they wouldn't stop following him and half because he had no idea what they were saying. His threatening glare alone was enough to leave the police from doing anything more. They kept their weapons and attention on him which allowed Mimi and Palmon to sneak into the forest unnoticed. They'd barely gotten to the stairs when they ran into another familiar digimon hiding in one of the park fountains - a Gotsumon doing his best to blend in with the other statuettes in the center spouting water.

As soon as he saw Mimi, he quickly jumped off and ran to join them, "Oh thank the sovereigns! It's you. What is this place?"

"Central Park in New York City," Mimi answered sheepishly, "Welcome to the Real World. Is it just you?"

"I don't know," the Gotsumon answered dryly, "I was with my friends and then there was this bright light. And now I'm here. Please tell me you can take me back."

"We're working on it," Palmon answered, "it's not just you - digimon are appearing all over the Real World. We're trying to find them all and bring them back here to the Digital World! Don't worry, you're safe with us now!"

"What about ShogunGekomon? I saw him run past and he was being chased by a ton of humans!"

"Yeah, like I said - we're working on it. I'm waiting for the others to help us out," Mimi said, looking at her D-Terminal in the hopes that some kind of message would be coming any moment now. As if to answer her hopes, a message arrived from Izzy. She read it aloud, "Just got something from Izzy. _On our way - be there soon. ShogunGekomon is surrounded by police. We're going to help him."_

She paused after reading and began typing her reply back, "We're already here. Trying to figure out how to get the police away."

Her D-Terminal beeped quickly with Izzy's message that she read aloud, " _We'll take care of the police. Get ShogunGekomon out of there._ Well, that's encouraging. What does he mean by take care of them?"

"I thought you'd be more excited to see him," Palmon noted playfully, making Mimi put the D-Terminal away in a rush, "What makes you say that?"

"Nothing in particular. Ooh, look! There's Kabuterimon now," Palmon gesture above them just as Kabuterimon appeared over the trees, and buzzed over ShogunGekomon. The two of them growled at each other briefly, before Kabuterimon took off again - flying low enough to knock over a few police officers as he passed. The other officers reformed and started shooting at Kabuterimon, leading Mimi to run with the two digimon behind some trees. Kabuterimon turned in the air a few times to blast balls of electricity at the officers while staying mobile. It was hard to say if it was skill or luck that kept any of the bullets from striking the giant insect - although it was just as likely that the police weren't very good shots. Either way, the fact that he was flying in the air probably helped.

Palmon asked, "Shouldn't we go help?"

"Izzy said he'd draw the police away," Mimi replied, "So it's on us to get ShogunGekomon out of there. But where do we go? He sticks out like a sore thumb."

"He's a giant, orange toad," Gotsumon pointed out, "Just have him jump in the water somewhere. He can swim away!"

"This is New York City," Mimi answered, "The water is all brown. Good luck convincing anyone to jump in that."

"Well, we have to get him out of there," Palmon said, "Can we talk about this while we walk? I don't think Kabuterimon can keep their attention on him forever!"

"Yeah, good point," Mimi nodded in agreement, running out of her cover towards the pond that ShogunGekomon had been sitting in silent bewilderment. The giant toad finally stood up when he saw them coming and asked, "Was that Izzy and Kabuterimon?"

"Yeah, they're going to keep the police distracted," Palmon explained, "We need to get you out of here and somewhere safe!"

"Lord ShogunGekomon! It's so good to see that you're safe," the Gotsumon added, surprising ShogunGekomon, "I see I'm not the only one who fell through. So Mimi, what is your plan? Where do we go from here?"

"I'm honestly just winging it as I go," she admitted sheepishly, "The problem is that we need a place to hide you before they come back. And it's kinda hard to hide a big orange toad. No offense."

"None taken. I'm a stranger to this world," ShogunGekomon admitted, "Although I have to admit that it's very drab - the buildings are all gray and all the greenery is here in this park. The lights are nice, but they don't do much to distract you from how dirty everything is."

"Welcome to New York City," Mimi added quietly, "Wait, I know a place we can go! Roosevelt Island - this really out of the way place with an abandoned hospital! That place is so large and run down that we could definitely hide you there!"

"Then lead on, Mimi," ShogunGekomon gestured ahead of them, "I'll follow you."

* * *

Ken looked out the window as their plane continued onwards over the night skies of America. Wormmon had fallen asleep on his lap while Michael had been in the cockpit with his dad. After some time, Michael reappeared from the front with his partner and explained, "Dad say we're almost at Mexico border. Says radio is quiet. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing."

"With my luck, hopefully it's a good sign but I doubt that it will be," Ken answered quietly, speaking in English for the first time since he'd met Michael. Michael eyes widened in surprise, "Oh, you speak English? I'm surprised."

"Yes," Ken nodded quietly, "One of the few things I can still remember. A lot of is gone but I should still be proficient enough to be conversational."

"You look familiar? Have we met?" Michael asked curiously. Ken remembered, but wasn't sure how to bring it up with him. They had met once before - when he was the Digimon Emperor and Michael was part of the boarding party that attacked his ship. After a long time, he nodded quietly unsure of where to begin or how to even address his less than stellar history with the boy. Unfortunately for him, Michael seemed to remember and jumped at the revelation, "Wait a minute! You're Ken Ichijouji! You were the Emperor!"

Ken sighed, averting his gaze as he was overwhelmed with guilt and shame, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Michael answered, "I got the gist of what happened from the others. You had a rough time of it. But you're trying to do right by it now. That's all that matters."

"Still, I shouldn't have done it in the first place," Ken was about to counter only to be stopped when Michael rapped his knuckled on his forehead, "Yeah, no. I don't care. What's in the past is in the past. As long as you're trying to make up for it, who cares?"

"You're not mad?"

"Why would I be?" Michael answered seriously, "It's not like you're trying stop us. Otherwise you wouldn't come to Mexico with us.

Ken smiled, relieved that Michael was like Davis in his personality.

"It looks like we're in for a rough ride boys," Michel's dad announced from the cabin of the plane. The plane started to rock and shake unsteadily, jolting Wormmon awake. Ken got out of his seat and made his way to the cabin, "What's wrong?"

"There's a thunder storm brewing all along the border," he answered, "I've checked up and down the border with every working radar station - it's just hundreds of miles of thunderstorms over the border. We're not getting in there without going through this. The only way in is through the storm. Hang on tight everyone!"

"Dad, is this a good idea?" Michael asked his father nervously as the plane continued ahead, "If we get struck by lightning, we're going to crash!"

"Don't worry, son," Michel said enthusiastically, "I've got plenty of experience flying planes from my movies. Besides, it's not the lightning that will kill us. It'll be the turbulence."

He pressed further on into the storm and took up the radio to try and make contact with any airports below but was met with more silence. Ken went back to his seat where Wormmon fretted as he looked out the window, "Are we going to be okay?"

"I hope so," Ken answered quietly, "It'd be bad if the plane were to go down now."

As if he'd jinxed the situation itself, the lights on the plane flickered before going dark. Michael jumped out of his chair and called, "Dad! What's going on?"

"No idea," Michel shouted back. He was busy pressing buttons, flipping switches and turning knobs on the board to restart the plane, "Everything just died. It looks like we're going to be gliding our way down!"

"Gliding?" Michael repeated stupidly while Betamon jumped up and down, "What's happening?"

"He means we're crashing," Ken answered stupidly, "We're in trouble. A lot of trouble. Wormmon, do you think you can help guide the plane down?"

"The weather will throw me all over the place. But I'll still try my best!" Wormmon said with resolve, hurrying to the door. Just as Ken was about to open it, Michel called out, "No! Not yet! Let me get lower to the ground! If you open it now, the depressurization will kill us all!"

"We're falling like a rock! If you don't hurry, that's what'll kill us!" Ken said back. Michel gave a thumbs up, "Don't worry! Just give me a minute."

The plane descended, with Ken's hands hand anxiously on the door, waiting for the moment that they would be low enough to the ground for Michael's dad. Seconds past by faster than he cared to count, looking out the window at the darkened landscape to see that trees, roads, and buildings were getting considerable larger. At the moment Ken was about to open the door anyway, he heard Michel shout, "Okay blow the door and hold on to something!"

Ken obliged, grabbing onto one of the belts from a chair and releasing the lock on the door. The door flew off and Wormmon leapt out, disappearing into the darkness. Ken reached for his digivice in his pocket, seeing the familiar light of digivolution outside somewhere and knew it was all up to his partner now. The plane rocked and shook as it continued to descend before they felt the rear of the plane rock violently. That was when he knew the plane was now in Stingmon's hands but they were far from safe. The plane still continued its descent but it wasn't as shaky as it was before.

Then Michel shouted words he didn't want to hear, "We're going to hit the ground! Hang on to something! Hopefully we slow down before we hit that building!"

"A building!?" Ken repeated, trying to look out the cockpit windshield but unable to see where they were going but all he could see was the darkness ahead of him. A quick glance out the open door told him they were just feet off the ground now. Michel shouted back, "I'm putting her down! Brace yourselves!"

The whole plane shook violently and Ken bounced off his chair into the seat behind him as it hit the ground. The whole plane screeched and screamed as the metal scraped against the ground, before they heard a large crash like thunder and were jolted forward. Everything after that was a daze for Ken.

* * *

Mimi, Palmon, Gotsumon, and ShogunGekomon arrived at Roosevelt Island without running into any other police and hid inside the ruins of the abandoned hospital. The fact that there were no others officers around had them worried for the others. Izzy, Kabuterimon, Davis, and ExVeemon hadn't messaged them since the park. She tried sending them a message but hadn't gotten anything back from them. She scanned the skies periodically in search of something - anything, that could mean they were safe but only saw the occasional police helicopter circling over the city in search of more loose digimon. Just thinking about the danger they were in made her frown and Palmon commented, "Don't worry about Izzy. Kabuterimon can take care of him."

"Oh, so do you two like each other like those other two?" ShogunGekomon asked, "What was his name? The musician, I think it was Matt? He liked that Sora girl."

"Wait, he did?" Mimi turned around in surprise, "Huh. I always thought Sora would...well, never mind. So what do we do now?"

"You're asking us? This isn't our world. We don't know the first thing about this place. You guys sure do build a lot of buildings, though," Gotsumon pointed out disbelievingly. Mimi placed hand to her chin and tried to think of what they could do next but nothing came to her. The thought of the others being in danger while she couldn't do anything weighed on her. She shook her head in disbelief until they heard a noise coming from one of the rooms. Palmon leapt in front, "Hey! Who's there!"

"Moumantai," a little white bunny eared digimon walked out, "You guys have to relax!"

"You always say that," a brown bunny eared digimon added as she added, "It never works. They just get madder."

"Digimon!" Palmon gasped out, "Did you guts get pulled into our world too?"

"Nah, we were here before all this started. You look familiar. Haven't we met before?" the white digimon asked, turning his head to the side as he examined Mimi carefully. Mimi stepped back as the digimon began to sniff her, but she did agree that she had seen this little guy somewhere before. But she had no idea where.

"Say, I do remember you! You were that girl who was with TK and Kari back in summer!" the white digimon said, "I mean to ask: why is your hair pink?"

"Terriermon! Lopmon! Where'd you guys go!?" A boyish voice shouted from somewhere further into the hospital. A familiar blond haired boy dressed in baseball clothes ran out and grumbled, "I turn around for one second to calm down an Agumon and you guys practically wander off. Who's that? Wait, don't tell me you're-"

"Another digidestined?" Mimi's mouth fell open, "Wait! You were that kid who was being chased!"

"It's not my fault I got possessed by the ghost of a dead and angry digimon," Lopmon offered meekly in her defense. Terriermon laughed, "You were just making friends and sharing living space! Wait, does that make you common law?"

"What are you two talking about?" Willis frowned, flicking the back of both their heads, "We've got a bunch of displaced digimon hiding out here in this abandoned hospital and you two are making jokes! Anyway, I don't think we've met properly yet. I'm Willis. It's nice to meet you."

He extended out a hand in a much friendlier greeting from last time. She shook it carefully, "Mimi."

"There are more digimon here? Where?" ShogunGekomon looked around the ruined building thoroughly for signs of any other digimon. At the sound of his voice, several Agumon and Gekomon dressed in armor ran forward with their spears. Upon seeing the large digimon, they took a knee on the ground, "Lord ShogunGekomon! We're happy to see you're safe."

"The same," ShogunGekomon nodded to his contingent guard, "What are you all doing here?"

"The human Willis and his partners found us lost in the city," one of the Agumon explained without raising his head, "He's been helping round us up, especially since the humans weren't too happy about our arrival. We tried to fight them back but that only brought more of them. We ran as soon as the fight went south but not everyone got away. We lost many members of the guard."

"This isn't right," Mimi frowned, "I was hoping we wouldn't have to deal with anything like this ever again."

"It can't be helped Mimi," Palmon frowned, sensing her partner's frustration with the turn of events, "All we can do now is try to get them all back to the Digital World."

"Yeah, but how? It's not like we have a way to open a gate back to the Digital World," Mimi explained to her partner in a sea of frustration, "I just don't like sitting here and doing nothing."

"What about the others? Yolei and Kari were kinda cute so it'd be nice if they could help us. Plus, Davis and TK were good at coming up with ideas on the spot," Willis pointed out, "I mean, sitting here and hiding is making everyone anxious. And even if we could open a gate, we'd need a computer."

"Izzy usually has his computer with him so you can bet that problem's taken care of," Mimi answered, folding her arms just as her D-Terminal beeped. She opened it back up to see a message from Izzy which she read aloud, " _Finally lost them. On our way. See you soon._ How are they finding us so quick?"

As she spoke aloud, a sudden gust of wind kicked up above them, blowing her hair into her face and blinding her. The gentle landings signaled the arrival of what could only have been Kabuterimon, "Losing those cops took forever."

"Leave it to Davis to come up with something no one would expect," ExVeemon added with a punch to the air. Once Mimi managed to get her hair out of her face, she saw Izzy coming her way with a nervous smile, "I'm...relieved to see you're all okay. Great work, Mimi."

"What about us?" Terriermon grumbled, "We're the ones who found these guys! Where's our credit?"

"Don't you mean 'Moumantai'?" Willis joked at his partner's expense, turning to Davis and ExVeemon, "It's good to see you guys, again."

"Same dude!" Davis answered back and picking up Lopmon, "Gotta admit, you're kinda adorable now that you're not trying to kill us for no reason."

Lopmon bore her teeth and answered Davis's greeting by biting his arm. Davis yelped and dropped the little digimon onto the ground while he rubbed the wound, "What gives?"

"She doesn't like to be picked up," Willis answered sheepishly, "Still, you shouldn't be biting people, Lopmon."

"Then tell people to stop picking me up," Lopmon stuck her tongue out at Davis. ShogunGekomon interrupted, "I don't mean to be rude but I don't want to stay in this world any longer if I don't have to. Can we be returned to our world already?"

"Sorry, we were distracted," Izzy apologized as he finally opened his laptop and faced it towards the innocent digimon, "Whenever you're ready Davis."

"What about the others?" one of the Agumon guards panicked, "They could be lost in the city and we can't just leave them behind?"

Davis flashed his digivice, "Don't worry about them! We'll find them no problem with our digivices! Let's just get you guys out of here for now!"

"Thanks...for everything," the Agumon bowed sheepishly, averting meeting the digidestined's gaze. Something was wrong but nobody pressed it with the little digimon as Davis cheerily adjusted his goggles, "Don't mention it."

"No, really," the Agumon insisted, "I guess we've been...a little unfair to you guys lately. I'm sorry. We're sorry."

Davis stared down at the digimon, perhaps just barely understanding what the digimon was trying to say. He was about to open his mouth to retort but realized this was hardly the time for that and patted his head instead, "Like I said. Don't mention it. Let's get you guys home. Digiport Open!"

Izzy's computer flashed a bright light that sucked in ShogunGekomon, Gotsumon, and all the other digimon. Once they were gone, Izzy closed his laptop and breathed a sigh of relief, "Good. They're taken care of. What now?"

"We should probably get out of here," Willis suggested. Davis agreed, folding his arms behind his head, "Yeah, we still have to find as many of those missing digimon as we can."

Willis pointed up, "I was actually talking about the fact that there are helicopters searching the city and a bright flash of light coming from an old, abandoned hospital probably attracts a lot of attention."

No sooner had he pointed this out, they noticed the sound of helicopter blades coming their way and promptly began running. Palmon moaned, "I don't get it. Why don't we just fly out of here?"

"A giant bug is going to be easy to spot," Izzy explained, "And I don't think that trick Davis came up with is going to work twice!"

"What exactly did he come up with?" Mimi raised an eye brow.

"I'll tell you guys later, let's go!" ExVeemon shouted.

* * *

Ken shook his head as the frantic noise of panic and terror filled his ears. He could hear Stingmon's voice and the sound of confused panic. He closed and opened his eyes a few times, trying to make sense of the blurry view in front of him. A quick inspection of himself told him he was okay, physically at least. As he tried to make sense of what was going on around him, he heard cries in Spanish.

"¿Quiénes son estos putos?"

"Esa lindura es la respuesta a mis plegarias."

"Hija, tienes dieciséis. Él tiene diez, quizás once. Él no es... espera, ¿que oraciones?"

"Eso no importa. Quiero ver al lindo"

"Ken, wake up!" Stingmon shouted in a panic. That alone was enough to bring Ken out of his shaken stupor, jumping up to see his partner crouched over him. Michael was at the head of the plane, trying to awaken his dad who was lying face first against the controls. Betamon was beside him, growling at a group of people who were standing at the open door to see what was going on. The little digimo shouted at them to leave, but it was obvious the language barrier was a problem and some seemed to think he was just a very ugly dog.

He could hear sirens now as he stumbled his way out of the plane and onto a cold tile floor. He looked up and witnessed a crowd of people gathered around him, beside him was a teenaged girl in a a vibrant pink dress talking to him, ""¿Cómo te sientes? ¿Estás bien?"

"I think I have a concussion," Ken mumbled as he tried to make himself stand up, before correcting himself. He had to speak Spanish here, "No estoy bien. Mi cabeza duele. Creo que tengo una... um... cabeza... fuerte...""

"Es una conmoción cerebral. Tienes que ir al hospital," he heard an older man say as he came closer to look at him, and a few gasps followed.

"No...no..." Ken pushed the man away, "Stingmon, let's get out of here."

"Michael! Betamon! We have to go!" Stingmon shouted back into the airplane. As soon as Stingmon emerged from within the plane, Ken could hear the crowd gasp and some began running away. They were making too much of a scene and had to get away, but Ken was too disoriented to think straight. And his legs wanted to give out from under him. Just as he was about to fall over, he felt a hand grab his and shout, "¡Tenemos a salir! ¡Vamos!"

"What's happening?" Ken mumbled, his head shaking as he felt himself be tugged forward. Before he could make sense of anything, he was pulled forward and struggling to keep from falling over as they ran. He could hear Stingmon shouting something behind him, but it was too difficult to make sense of it. He could also vaguely make out Michael's voice and Betamon's.

Everything began to blur together after that and only began to make sense when he found himself lying on a couch in a dusty white living room in sweltering heat. He sat up, examining a small living room and realizing he was drenched in sweat. Stingmon was peering over him excitedly, "Ken! You're awake! Thank goodness."

"Stingmon? What happened?" Ken asked, pushing himself off the couch and realizing he had a pounding headache. Stingmon shrugged, "We were saved by a human girl. I have no idea what she's saying though. Michael's been talking to her, but it doesn't help that I have no idea what he's saying either."

At that moment, Betamon poked his head in the door and shouted for Michael, "Ken! He's awake!"

Michael hurried in along with another girl he didn't recognize - a dark skinned girl in khaki shorts, sandals, and a pink t-shirt over a black long sleeve. Her black hair was long and tied into a ponytail. She had a backpack slung over her shoulders that made soft meowing noises. Then the head of a small cat digimon that looked Gatomon tiger stripes popped out through an open flap. Michael blurted out, "Ken! You're okay. We were worried after you passed out."

"What happened?" Ken asked again, looking around the room in confusion. The girl answered, "You crashed a plane into my cousin's house. On her quincinera. On Christmas. She was not having a good time. It's just a good thing that we live nearby. I took you guys here before the police came. Michael's dad was in the plane though and he's being taken to a nearby hospital."

"Wait, I understood that," Stingmon interrupted, "If you could speak a language I understood, why haven't you?'

"Because it was funny," the girl stuck her tongue out, "Michael's already introduced me to you guys. You can call me El Gato."

"What?" Ken blinked as he looked at the Gatomon like digimon beside her - presumably her partner. The tiger striped cat leapt out of the bag and introduced herself, "Ella se llama Bella. Soy su compañero - Mikemon. Es un placer conocerlos."

"Igualmente," Ken nodded.

"And we're back to not understanding," Stingmon groaned while Bella giggled, "That's alright. Just call me El Gato."

"Wouldn't it be La Gato?" Michael put a hand to his chin quizzically, "Or La Gata?"

Bella gasped and slapped him across the face, "PUTO PENDEJO!"

Michael rubbed his cheek, "Ow, what!?"

"I don't understand, what's wrong with what he said?" Stingmon asked, only to earn a slap himself, "Comida pez!"

"La palabra 'Gata' es un insulto aqui," Mikemon answered sheepishly. Bella pouted, "Call me El Gato! So then, what's the plan? I'm guessing you're the ones who are here to help send the digimon back to the Digital World?"

"That's right," Ken nodded quietly, producing his digivice for her to see. She marveled at it while he went on, "I can use this to open a gate back to the Digital World but we need to find them first. And get a computer too."

A quick glance of the map screen told him that there were about ten signal scattered around the area where the digimon were. He looked up at the Bella and stated, "It seems kind of calm given the state things are in. Aren't people here more worried about the digimon on the loose?"

"Not really," Bella answered, "There are enough things to worry about. What's one more?"

"Where exactly are we?" Michael asked nervously, disturbed by the sudden revelation. Bella sensed their unease and patted both their shoulders, "Don't worry about it. Come on. Let's go save some digimon!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Bella and Mikemon headed for the door and disappeared out the street. Ken massaged his head and looked at Michael and Stingmon. Both of them looked back at Ken as if they were waiting for him to take the lead. He nodded and started walking, "We should probably stick with her."

"We should...but is that a good idea?" Stingmon asked, "I don't like her."

"Is that because she slapped you or called you fish food?" Michael joked.

They headed outside and the first thing they saw was a pillar of smoke rising up over the roofs of nearby buildings. Assuming that smoke was coming from where their plane had collided with the ground, that must've meant they crashed somewhere near a town or a city. It was still dark out, although it was hard to say if that was because it was night time or the storm clouds that had shut the power down.

They continued along, down the dark yet busy streets decorated with Christmas lights and people still trying to sell things despite the madness that was going on. The found the first two digimon together - a Minotarumon and a Tokomon who were trying to buy some shirts from a street vendor who looked to be trying not to upset them. They reacted warmly to the presence of the digidestined and happily followed along with them. Next, they found a group of Yokomon who'd made a nest under a Christmas tree in the town plaza who were refusing to leave. Rounding them up so they could leave was simple enough but it was getting them to be left alone that was the challenge. A few stray cats made it their business to begin following them around, much to the frutration of the Yokomon. Apparently, a cat had already made one attempt to eat one of them.

Their greatest problem was a little girl who had to be about eight with a digivice around her waist running with a Gotsumon away from an angry Dokugumon that had chased them into an abandoned warehouse. They ran to help as she and her partner slid the door shut behind her, only to see Dokugumon ram straight through it anyway.

When they reached inside, they found the little girl and her partner cornered as Dokugumon rushed in to attack. As the girl yelped, Bella raised up her digivice and shouted for Mikemon to leap into action. With a bright flash of light, Mikemon cried out, "¡Mikemon! ¡Digimons a! ¡Beastmon!"

A slender cat like woman emerged from the digivolution, wearing a purple veil across her face and adorned with golden rings and jewelry. Going by appearance, she was anything but a beast and could easily be confused for royalty. She leapt at Dokugumon and swiped at the spider's abdomen with her claws, harming the champion spider and drawing its attention away from the little girl. Gotsumon took the girl's hand and led her away, just as Beastmon kicked the spider through the warehouse wall and back out into the street, landing on a freight container that a Meramon had perched himself on top of.

The Meramon growled in anger upon seeing another digimon crash onto his container and leapt down to protect his territory. As the fight between the two digimon escalated into a brawl, Michael ran out and pleaded with them to stop fighting only to be ignored. Bella added, "They're too busy fighting to care about what you have to say, Michael!"

"I...okay, Betamon!" Michael called out to his partner. Ken did the same for Stingmon, flying into the fray while Betamon digivolved, "Betamon! Digivolve to! Seadramon!"

Stingmon's red blade extended from his arm and he swung at Dokugumon. Dokugumon leapt backwards away from his sword and spewed out webs to ensnare the digimon. Beastmon tried to tear a way through towards Dokugumon but leapt away as soon as Meramon began throwing fire their way. The fires ate the web and crept their towards Dokugumon who was left with no other recourse but to flee away. Unfortunately for her, she fled straight into a corner with no where to go as the fire surrounded her.

Seadramon quelled the fire with a spray of water from his mouth, drenching the web substance and alarming Meramon to his presence. The fire digimon turned to flee, not wanting to be extinguished but was stopped in his tracks by Beastmon, "No you don't! Stay where you are!"

"Wait, I understood that!" Stingmon pointed, "If you could speak a language I understood, why didn't you!?"

"Because it was funny," Mikemon mused. Meramon snarled and tried to scare her away by throwing a ball of fire at her feet but only managed in to anger the cat digimon more. She answered his fire ball by charging forward and kicking him back into Seadramon. The fire on his body briefly lit her foot until she stamped it out, "Okay, I'm not doing that again. Seadramon!"

"Little busy right now," Seadramon answered, using his long slender body to restrict Dokugumon's movements. Stingmon flew in from the side to knock the digimon unconscious with a sharp blow to the head, allowing Seadramon to finally let got and turn his attention to Meramon. Meramon sensed his imminent defeat and threw up his hands defensively, as if begging to be spared before Seadramon blasted him with water. The water didn't extinguish the fires on his body but did diminish them slightly; Meramon sagged to the ground with his eyes closed. He wasn't dead, did seem tired.

As soon as the digimon passed out, Bella cheered excitedly and high-fived her partner. The little girl who had run for cover previously reappeared with her partner from behind a destroyed section of warehouse wall, "¿Es seguro?"

"¡Bien! Esos digimon ahora esta inconscientes," Bella answered. The little girl jumped up and down, "¡Gracias amiga! Mi nombre es Rosa, ¡Y este es mi compañero Gotsumon!"

"I don't understand a word of any of this," Gotsumon grumbled, crossing his arms and muttering about his luck. Stingmon's head perked up at the revelation, "Finally, someone else who has no idea what's going on."

"Someone I understand!" Gotsumon's mouth fell into a big grin, "It's been so long!"

"How long has it been?" Michael asked as the Gotsumon began clinging to Stingmon's leg, "Months! I have no clue what anyone is saying here! I hung around Rosa because her digivice helps me digivolve whenever I have to help out. Otherwise, I literally don't understand anything that happens."

"How can you be her partner if you don't understand her language?" Ken raised a curious eye brow while Gotsumon answered, "It's mostly been gesturing and grunts for the last couple of months to be honest. At least the food's good. And there's a lot of it. Anyway, what are you guys doing here?"

"Don't you know?" Bella asked, "There was a huge computer call and everything. Digimon are popping up all over the world. Didn't you think something was wrong?"

"Not really," Gotsumon shrugged, "But am I right to guess that you're going to be sending them all back? Most of them seem pretty cool about it but some are just running around causing problems. We went to go have a look ourselves when we ran into that Dokugumon."

"Gotsumon, ¿Quién es el lindo?" Rosa asked as she gestured towards Ken. Ken interrupted any laughter or jokes at his expense by clearing his throat loudly and answering, "Well that is gist of what's going on. But it's much worse than that. It's happening all over the world! So we're here to help send the digimon back to Digital World. We just need a computer so that I can open the gate."

"We won't have to look far," Michael smiled as he went over to one of the destroyed crates and pulled out a box of a brand new, unopened box marked with a laptop. He smiled devilishly as he opened it and asked, "So who wants to get on the Digital World express?"

"I want a new laptop," Bella said, as she snatched the box out of his hands. Michael's jaw fell open, "That's stealing!"

"What they don't know won't hurt them or make things any less confusing," Bella countered, "There were a bunch of digimon running loose outside! No one's going to care about a few missing laptops."

"A few?" Stingmon repeated quietly as Bella started stuffing boxes in her bag.

"That's…wrong," Ken stumbled, hesitant to make any kind of accusation after what he'd done. Bella shrugged, "It's not like they'll be able to sell it once we open the box. I might as well take it."

"And the rest of them?" Ken crossed his arms uncomfortably. Bella threw up her fingers in a peace sign, "It's my cousin's quincinera so this'll be her present. I have another cousin in college and I'm sure he'll like the laptop."

"I don't feel comfortable with this," Gotsumon added, ignored while Bella tore one of the boxes open and took out the brand new laptop. She set it on the ground, "Okay! So how do we do this?"

Ken held up his digivice and directed the digimon to stand in front of it. Stingmon and Beastmon had to roll Meramon's unconscious body in front of them since he was still out cold. With his digivice out, Ken said, "Digiport Open!"

The image of the Ancient gate appeared on screen and parted to reveal a blinding white light. Winds roared as the digimon were all pulled into the computer and only faded when Bella closed the lid, "Okay, now what?"

"We round up any remaining digimon and finish up!" Ken answered, "Then we check on Michael's dad and head back to where we all came from!"

Rosa asked what any of that meant and Bella explained everything to her. The little girl was ecstatic to hear the plan, "¡Me agrada este plan! Quiero estar con el guapo."

Bella looked Ken's way and clicked her tongue disapprovingly, "Eh, seis de diez."

Ken did his best to ignore all of that as he led the way back out of the warehouse. There were still more digimon to find and then they had to figure out how to get back into America. This was going to be a long night.

 

 


	45. The Return of BlackWarGreymon

The digidestined's trip around the world had not gone unnoticed. Because of Michael's dad's status as a celebrity, it wasn't hard to get him and the rest of their group transferred back to America. From there, helicopter arrangements were made to take Ken, Wormmon, Michael, and Betamon back to New York City where the city was still on high alert after what happened. By the time they were reunited and able to create Imperialdramon, it was the morning of December 27th - two days after Christmas and a full day after they'd left to go save the world.

They found Davis, Veemon, Mimi, Palmon, Izzy, and Tentomon hiding out with her dad in a motel where they'd been evacuated to after what happened in New York City. When Michael noticed Izzy and Mimi sitting close to each other on the couch, he asked what he'd missed while he was away. Palmon told him all about what happened between Mimi and her dad, then said to leave it be since it was something they had to work out. Michael felt a little miffed by that, especially since Mimi was resting her head on his shoulder while he worked on his laptop. Of course, it made it obvious that the boy was flustered by this.

After a brief rest, Mimi and her father drove them out of the city since they couldn't afford to have Imperialdramon appear in the middle of a city that had just dealt with the appearance of random monsters. They'd driven about an hour into the country side when they all received the same cryptic message from Cody's D-Terminal - another Ancient calling himself The Trickster had appeared and nearly started a war for laughs before making them dance. Upon seeing the message Mimi lamented the idea of having a more dangerous Tamer on their hands. Then Matt's message came in asking if they were okay and Cody affirmed them that they'd gotten the digimon safely out of harm's way but worried about the idea of having another Ancient running around.

It didn't help that Ken reminded them that they still had to worry about Dragomon, Daemon, Oikawa, Arukenimon, and Mummymon. Sora's message came in to say that they should focus on one danger at a time and they should head home after having their Christmas ruined.

It took all of a matter of minutes for Imperialdramon to get to every corner of the globe, picking up everyone where they'd been left off and hurrying away before local authorities could react. They were pursued by fighter jets a few times but Ken pointed out that they weren't actively engaging the digidestined any more. Instead they shadowed Imperialdramon from a distance until he left their country's airspace before breaking off.

It was only when they all got home that any of them were finally able to relax. Everyone stretched and yawned from the fatigue. It was then that Matt noticed something off about his brother, "Hey TK, why's your collar up like that?"

"What do you mean?" TK answered defensively, shifting his arms uncomfortably as Matt came closer, "It wasn't up like that when we left. In fact, you went to Australia! It would've been hot there! So why is your collar up?"

"It was hot there, but it's cold here. The temperature change is all it is," TK answered quickly, just as Matt pulled the collar down and saw a sight that made him blush, "Is that lipstick?"

"Lipstick?" Davis asked, running over to see for himself just as TK pulled away, "No! No! Of course not!"

"TK! Were you making out with a girl while we were supposed to be saving the world?" Matt began to scold him, although admittedly envious of his little brother's luck. Before TK could answer, Cody noted, "With TK's luck, it's more likely that a girl just started kissing him and he couldn't stop her."

"Which is exactly what happened," Patamon laughed from atop TK's hat. TK went red in the face from embarrassment, "Oh come on Patamon!"

"You should be flattered. She said you were cool," Patamon added. Just as TK was about to add more, he noted Kari looking away.

Unknown to him, Kari hadn't looked away in disgust but rather to hide the blush on her cheeks. She thought of TK as a friend and only a friend. But the idea of another girl kissing him bothered her. She wanted to slap him, but she wasn't mad at him. She wanted to cry, but she wasn't sad. It didn't help that TK added, "She said she _thought_ I was cool and...look, I don't want to talk about this anymore! Can we please move on?"

"You better believe we'll be talking about this when we get back home," Matt grumbled, leaving TK dreading yet another conversation with their mom about things he never wanted to talk to her about. Or his dad for that matter. Sora took that chance in particular to tease Matt, "You're not jealous of your little brother are you? I mean, you're the one with a legion of fan girls."

"That's different. I didn't ask for a bunch of girls to hound me around," Matt countered, just as TK added, "I didn't ask for this either!"

"So what are we going to do about Dragomon, Arukenimon, or the rest of them? They're still out there," Joe finally said in the hopes of getting the conversation back on track in some way. Sora shrugged, massaging her eyes and trying to keep her eyes open despite how tired she was, "I don't know. I can barely think. How about we go home and get some rest? Then we can get some time to sleep and relax and get our heads straight."

"What about those kids that Oikawa had?" Ken asked, "Who knows what's happening to them with whatever Oikawa did."

"What exactly did he do?" Davis asked, "You never really told us. You said he used a bar code reader?"

Ken placed a hand to his chin as he tried to make sense of what Oikawa did specifically, "This is just a guess. Whatever was on the back of my neck that Joe's dad was examining, he either removed it or copied then spread it to each of those kids. The thing is, it was dark and Arukenimon was holding me to the ground while it happened. I never got a good look at any of the kids and probably wouldn't recognize them if I did."

"Well we need a way to find them," Matt said, "We need to know what Oikawa did."

"We don't need to find the kids," TK realized aloud in a moment of realization, running ahead to look back at them. Davis folded his arms, "Yeah...we kinda do."

"We don't!" TK smiled, waving his arms excitedly as he spoke, "Don't you see? We just need to find Oikawa! If we find him, we can find out what happened to the rest of them."

"Okay, so how do we find Oikawa?" Gabumon asked with a raised hand. TK smiled an eeriely familiar grin, "Mom! They used to know each other, remember? If anyone would have any idea where to look, it would be her."

"Are you sure she'll know?" Sora asked leaning forward. Yolei groaned in frustration, "Can we please worry about all of this tomorrow? Our Christmas was already ruined by that creep with the octopus head! I want to at least enjoy what's left of today."

"Yeah, I kind of want to just head home too," Gomamon frowned, rubbing his head and ashamed to admit, "Truth is, I'm tired everything that happened and just want to rest my head."

"It's been a long couple of days," Sora agreed quietly, rubbing her tired eyes and feeling exhausted, "How about we all get some rest and meet up tomorrow?"

"Sounds like a plan to me," Biyomon stretched. As they made their way off the beach towards the city, their path was suddenly blocked by a news van screeching to a halt in front of them. A camera crew and a reporter hopped out to shove a microphone in Matt's face, "Masahiro Watanabe from the NHK, can you tell us what you were doing when you left on your giant dragon a few days ago?"

"What?" Matt stammered out as another news van rolled to a stop beside them, "Shiori Moritaka from NNN. Tell us, how long have you led a double life as both musician and monster child?"

"Monster child?" Ken looked at the others for an explanation only to be met with the same confusion on their faces. Then a microphone found its way to him, "Ken! Tell us, does your being a child genius have anything to do with how you were able to tame these monsters?"

"Tame? Wormmon's my friend!" Ken snapped back angrily without thinking, only to find himself yanked by Joe, "Careful what you say, Ken. Who knows what's going."

"Let's get out of here," Gabumon commented just as a camera made its way to his face, "Do all of you creatures speak or is it limited to just a few of you?"

"I think I'm insulted," Gabumon answered the question. Matt groaned and produced his digivice, "Everyone scatter!"

Through a blinding series of lights, each of their partners digivolved and whisked them away before more reporters could show up. Kari and Nefertimon retreated back to their apartment together, looking back to make sure everyone had escaped clear. Her D-Terminal beeped once with a message from Sora, urging them to lie low and that they would meet up again tomorrow at her place. It didn't seem it would be that simple, though.

As soon as the two arrived at her parents, they were greeted by hugs and kisses from both parents who were just happy to see her home safe, "What took you so long? We were so worried!"

"We got stranded waiting for Imperialdramon to come pick us up," Kari answered, hanging up her coat and kicking off her winter boots. Her dad pulled her into the living room, "Not that. We meant this!"

He pointed her to the television where news broadcasters were replaying footage from where they took off on the beach. Apparently, taking off from the beach wasn't the smartest move in the world. Nor was the fact that the footage had been used to identify a few of them - namely Ken, Matt, and TK. Both Ken and Matt's fame had made them easy to identify. Unfortunately, this meant TK was quickly identified as Matt's younger brother. Thankfully, the rest of them remained unidentified because they were nobodies. Either way, the news had taken to calling them the 'monster children' because they had 'tamed' the monsters that attacked Tokyo.

"Tamed? I'm not tamed! I'm a free cat and I do what I want, when I want, how I want," Gatomon protested grumpily just as Kari's mom returned with a plate of food for them. For Kari, it was left over Christmas dinner. For Gatomon, it was several pieces of cooked tuna, "YAY! Tuna!"

She purred as she ate while Kari continued to watch the news. Apparently, both Ken and Matt's respective homes were swarmed by reporters since the story had broken. She messaged them once to make sure they were okay and heard nothing back from either. Unsure of if they even could reply and too tired to keep trying, she made her way to the bedroom and fell asleep on her bed.

* * *

" _He comes for the light, seeking what is his. Sing his praise and rejoice, partake in communion with his majesty. Fear not the dark, and let us feast._ "

Kari jolted awake in her bed, drenched in cold sweat in her darkened room. It took a moment, but she summoned the courage to hurry out of bed and towards the window. Gatomon hissed in protest as light broke through the window and crawled under the bed to get a bit more sleep. Outside was marked by cloudy skies and an unseasonably deep fog that had moved in over night from the ocean. The thick fog brought back horrifying memories of Myotismon and his invasion of the Real World. When she went back out into the living room, she found both parents watching the news with terror, "In response to the large mass detected off the coast, SDF forces have been deployed throughout the city in the event of more monster appearances. However, the question on everyone's mind is if the monster children will make an appearance today, following the events of Christmas."

On screen, she watched all the clips of military deployment. They'd placed tanks all around the city and missile launchers at key points along the city shore line. Several naval ships from the SDF even blockaded parts of the harbor. Then the clip changed to a large shadow moving just beneath the ocean while the marquee indicated that whatever it was continued towards the city.

Upon seeing this, she went to message the others but found they'd already sent over several messages of their own. TK and Sora agreed that they should all meet each other at the beach as quickly as they could, as the sudden appearance of all the fog could only mean that Dragomon had returned for another round. And last time, they had only managed to push Dragomon into a retreat. There was no doubt that he was going to come again and he wasn't going to back down as easily. After that were a string of messages from Ken, TK, and mostly Davis wondering where she was. She replied she was on her way and went to stir Gatomon who protested, "A few more minutes. I'm so tired."

"Gatomon, Dragomon's back," she explained. Gatomon perked up right away, "Again? How many times do we have to kick his butt?"

"Hopefully, this is the last time," she shivered as the cold chills started. As they readied to leave, her mom asked, "You're going, aren't you?"

"The others are already there," Kari answered, "We're going to help out."

Kari's mom opened and closed her mouth a few times before sighing, "Please, be careful."

"We will, mom," Kari nodded, hugging both her parents goodbye before throwing on her jacket and hurrying outside with her partner. She arrived in time to see everyone else already gathered, Davis punching the air excitedly, "KARI! YOU'RE SAFE! Thank goodness."

"Davish wash freaking out about you," Veemon added gleefully, "He wash thinking you got taken by the Dark Ocean again."

"More like he was crying," Yolei teased with a tongue out at Davis. As happy as she was to see all of them together like this, she couldn't ignore the chills and unease sinking into her. Gatomon seemed to sense this and asked, "Are you okay, Kari?"

"Yeah, just cold," Kari shivered, rubbing her arms together to keep warm. Ken nodded in silent agreement, "I'm feeling the same way. It's the Dark Ocean."

"I thought that guy would have learned from last time," Matt grumbled angrily, "This is literally the worst Christmas ever."

"It's about to get worse if we don't do anything to stop him," Gabumon added. Joe raised his hand to ask, "Um, so does anyone want to fill the rest of us in on what exactly we're going up against?"

"Dragomon - digimon from the Dark Ocean which is the weird place that Ken went to when he was younger. It went after Kari too. He's the boss of all those weird looking digimon who don't look quite right and were rampaging around on Christmas Eve," Davis stated quickly, "He's tough. WarGreymon was only able to push him when we fought him that one time. Then on Christmas, it took Garudamon, MetalGarurumon, Imperialdramon, Silphymon, and Shakkoumon together just to make him decide to leave."

"Got it, he's tough," Joe turned to Izzy, "What's that database you've got on him say?"

Izzy shrugged, "Would it help at all if I said nothing at all? Dragomon wasn't a name in the database."

"Of course, because why would it be?" Joe's shoulder slumped, "And I'm guessing Tamer didn't feel we needed to know anything about it?"

"The last thing he said to me was that he was leaving everything to us. We knew what to do. Whatever that means," Ken answered sheepishly. Matt asked, "Did he say anything useful?"

"It's Tamer," Ken pointed out and Matt nodded, "Good point."

"Well, Ken, how did you do it before?" TK asked seriously. Patamon leaned down from his hat, "Are you serious, TK?"

"Of course. I mean, Ken did it before didn't he? You put dark rings on all those digimon," TK explained seriously. Ken pressed a hand to his chin, "Did I? I don't remember doing that."

"Yeah, that's when they called Kari to them the first time," Davis explained quickly, "Back when she pulled that whole disappearing act in the hallway. We found her with a whole bunch of digimon and they said that they'd been placed there by you. Don't tell me you've forgotten that too."

Ken shook his head, "I'm sorry. I don't remember that at all. Do you Wormmon?"

"No, I don't," Wormmon answered quietly, "I remember a lot of time in the Digital World but I don't remember any time spent going to the Dark Ocean. Other than that one time you opened a gate by accident. And even then, we left and never went back."

"Bummer," Veemon said to the surprise of everyone present. Gatomon's eyes narrowed, "I guess Davis is finally starting to rub off on you."

"In a good way?" Veemon asked with a smile. Davis smiled, "Definitely, there's no way being more like me could be a bad thing. So, since Ken doesn't have a plan - how about we just head out there and beat Dragomon's head in like we always do?"

Just as everyone was about to groan at Davis' lack of tact, TK agreed, "That might not be a bad idea. It's sort of like with BlackWarGreymon. There's no reason our holy digimon shouldn't be able to just run out there and hurt him."

"Except you're forgetting that we haven't had much luck in the department," Gatomon frowned, "Angewomon, MagnaAngemon, Shakkoumon, Silphymon...hell, Imperialdramon was the only one able to hurt him. If you could call it that. Even then, Kari was the first one able to actually hurt it! Or Homeostasis or whatever."

"I did?" Kari blinked in surprise, trying to fight back the overwhelming desire to run as far away from this place as possible, " _Darkness falls across the land, the midnight hour is close at hand."_

Kari gasped and covered her mouth in terror while Cody looked around in confusion, "It's more like mid-morning."

"Oh no, Kari," Gatomon gave her a worried look. Dragomon was coming. They had no way of knowing how soon though. She could also see Ken clutching at his head and trying to stay calm. Davis placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, "He's coming ain't he, dude? How far is he?"

"Not coming. He's here," Ken shivered, " _He will blind us with his majesty, and enrich our minds with his-_ "

"I've had it with the crazy talk," Davis slapped the back of Ken's head. As soon as he did, they heard a a roar from the fog and the sound of water gurgling. Through the fog, they could make out the shadow of Dragomon making his way past the beach and towards them. A figure so massive was hard to ignore, and harded to miss when the rockets started to fire at him. Each impact lit up the fog with orange light and filled the air with the smell of smoke. The barrage continued for five minutes before ending, a gentle hush falling over everyone as the smoke cleared to reveal Dragomon unharmed and still approaching.

He roared again to announce his survival and continued his march towards the shore - towards Ken and Kari.

Armadillomon nudged up to his partner's side, "I reckon now'd be a good time for us to digivolve and take care of him."

"I agree," Cody produced his digivice from his pocket, leading the others to do the same. An array of lights flashed along the beach as each of their partners digivolved to their strongest forms.

"Gomamon! Digivolve to! Ikakkumon!"

"Patamon! Digivolve to! Angemon!"

"Biyomon! Digivolve to! Birdramon!"

"Tentomon! Digivolve to! Kabuterimon!"

"Veemon! Digivolve to! ExVeemon!"

"Hawkmon! Digivolve to! Aquilamon!"

"Armadillomon! Digivolve to! Ankylomon!"

"Wormmong! Digivolve to! Stingmon!"

"Ikakkumon! Digivolve to! Zudomon!"

"Birdramon! Digivolve to! Garudamon!"

"Kabuterimon! Digivolve to! MegaKabuterimon!"

"ExVeemon! Stingmon! DNA Digivolve to! Paildramon!"

"Gatomon! Aquilamon! DNA Digivolve to! Silphymon!"

"Ankylomon! Angemon! DNA Digivolve to! Shakkoumon!"

"Paildramon! Digivolve to! Imperialdramon!"

"Gabumon! Warp Digivolve to! MetalGarurumon!"

The digimon took off from the beach towards the shadow of Dragomon coming their way. Zudomon and MegaKabuterimon began the attack with their electrical blasts, "Vulcan's Hammer!"

"Electroshocker!"

The electricity traveled along the water and electrified the giant digimon, its body convulsing and twitching as the currents traveled through its body. The digimon's skin began to smoke but that didn't stop it from continuing its march towards them. Imperialdramon roared, "Our turn next! Positron Laser!"

"Static Force!"

"Justice Beam!"

"Wing Blade!"

"Ice Wolf Claw!"

Dragomon was peppered with blasts of energy, fire, and missiles. From where they were, they could even see soldiers from the nearby SDF stopping to watch the monsters fight. But that didn't pause didn't last as they began another round of attacks on Dragomon - rockets fired and guns sang as they peppered the digimon to slow its advance. Some even started to fire upon their digimon partners. Silphymon complained, " _Are you kidding?_ We're on their side! _I know! Tell them that!_ "

Imperialdramon was almost as large of a target as Dragomon but had at least one advantage in that he could at least move fast enough to get out of the line of fire. MegaKabuterimon, Garudamon, and Shakkoumon retreated away from the fight to avoid getting struck - leaving Zudomon who could submerge, and Silphymon and MetalGarurumon who were small and agile enough to weave through the missiles.

Zudomon emerged from beneath the waters to latch onto Dragomon and tried to drag him back under. Dragomon countered by wrapping all of his tentacles around him - choking the Ultimate level. Silphymon ran along the water's surface and leapt up at the last second to kick Dragomon in the head to topple him over, freeing Zudomon so that he could hold Dragomon still. Then MetalGarurumon slammed into him from above, throwing him into the water. The water's surface bubbled and gurgled as all four digimon disappeared beneath the waves and still silence followed.

They all watched the water's surface for any sign that their digimon were okay and that Dragomon was defeated. Just as the last bubbles surfaced, the water began to ripple and shake. A soft glow appeared beneath the water's edge and a pillar of light broke the surface - a terrible pillar of red and purples hues bathed in the deepest black. When it broke the surface; MetalGarurumon, Silphymon, and Zudomon were sent flying - crashing back into the waves and regressing to their In-Training forms - Nyaromon, Poromon, and Bukamon. MetalGarurumon spun in the air a few times, his armor cracked and broken but still able to maintain some control while he was in the air.

"I'll get them," Garudamon cried out, rushing back out to retrieve them just as the rockets and gun fire sang once again to rain down on Dragomon. Somewhere in the distance, they could hear the faint roar of jet engines growing louder until a pair of fighter jets roared past over head. Their arrival took Dragomon's attention, giving Garudamon the chance she needed to grab as many of the digimon as she could before fleeing. The planes circled overhead a few times before firing at Dragomon, pushing the digimon back with missiles but doing nothing to hurt it.

Just as the jets disappeared into the fog, Imperialdramon reappeared and slammed into Dragomon at full speed from behind, pushing the massive digimon face first into the water as he hurried back towards them. Then at this point blank range, he fired his cannon, "Positron Laser!"

The blast should've annihilated Dragomon - it should've ended the fight here. Like last time, it should've hurt enough to make Dragomon retreat. Instead, Dragomon retaliated by wrapped his tentacles around Imperialdramon and throwing him aside. The mega level roared, "Well that didn't work. _Anyone else have any better ideas?_ "

Ken's mind raced as he tried to recall when he'd ever gone to the Dark Ocean, when he'd ever placed the dark rings on the digimon. But he couldn't remember it. He had no idea when he would have ever done that. If he ever actually did. Why, of all times, was he now forgetting something that would be so important? How could he forget? Especially when it would help to actually know that so he could stop this monster.

Dragomon was back up and resumed his approach, their remaining digimon came together with one last push to try and stop it in its tracks. Shakkoumon, Imperialdramon, MegaKabuterimon, and Garudamon were desperately trying to wrestle the unholy digimon back into the water but it continued unabated towards Kari and Ken. The military fired a few more barrages at the digimon, and their partners scattered to let the weapons hit their mark. He lit up in a brilliant display of light and fire, but the smoke cleared to show him unfazed and still advancing. Between the attacks of their partner digimon and the missiles launched by the military, it seemed nothing would work. Ken and Kari looked at each other, neither saying a word but both knowing what the other was feeling - the whispering voices in the back of their mind and the overwhelming fear.

" _Reunion is nigh. Return to the whole and become one with darkness. That is your destiny._ "

The sky cracked open and the brightest lights appeared through to part the fog. A single figure emerged from the light, outlined by the lights into the shape of WarGreymon. Kari felt a moment of hope follow as she thought her brother was coming to save her - like he did the last time. Then she heard a terrible voice cry out, "Black Tornado!"

BlackWarGreymon. He was the last thing they needed. Why did he have to show up now?

BlackWarGreymon spun in place and created a tornado of black winds that sucked in the fog and water creating a waterspout so large that it made cold water rain all across the bay. The vortex managed to pull Dragomon towards, the monster roaring defiantly as it tried to hold its ground and use its tentacles to anchor itself to whatever it could. The other digimon did the same and held on to what they could - Imperialdramon and MetalGarurumon especially had their jets going full speed to keep themselves going forward. Any rockets that had been fired into the air were pulled in to the tornado as well, then thrown aside harmlessly into the bay where the explosions raised large waves of water. Dragomon turned to face the vortex, raising one of its tentacle arms and whipping at the winds to find its mark.

After some time, one of the tentacles managed to strike BlackWarGreymon and kill the tornado - sending him crashing through the air until he corrected himself. He growled for only a moment before rushing ahead to trade blows with the much larger Dragomon. During that brief exchange, they noticed something off about BlackWarGreymon - his armor was still damaged from his battle with Azulongmon but there was a determination in his eyes that wasn't there before. This wasn't a mindless battle for him - he had an objective.

After the two digimon traded blows, Imperialdramon rushed back into the fray between the two powerful digimon - although he wasn't sure whose side he should be on. Seeing him take the lead, Shakkoumon and MetalGarurumon raced in to help while MegaKabuterimon and Garudamon retreated back to safety - regressing to Tentomon and Biyomon. Tentomon groaned as he rejoined his partner, "This fight is getting out of hand. We'd be getting in the way if we tried to help them."

"Yeah, but I hate doing nothing but sitting here," Biyomon whined as they watched the three way fight unfold. Imperialdramon focused on Dragomon while Shakkoumon and MetalGarurumon kept their attention squarely on BlackWarGreymon, but they may as well have done nothing for all the good it did. Both BlackWarGreymon and Dragomon shrugged off their attacks and kept their attention squarely on each other. As the two continued to trade blows, Imperialdramon finally demanded, "BlackWarGreymon! What are you doing here?"

"Seeking my creator," BlackWarGreymon roared, rushing into punch Dragomon so hard that the digimon fell into the water and disappeared. Seeing an opening, BlackWarGreymon raised his arms up to the sky and began to summon a ball of fire that grew larger with each second, "Terra Destroyer!"

"STOP!" Imperialdramon raced forward and rammed BlackWarGreymon so that his throw was off. The large ball of fire over his head descended straight into the Tokyo Bay, bringing the freezing waters to a boil and creating a hot mist that made Dragomon howl in pain. Annoyed, the mega turned on Imperialdramon, "What do you think you're doing?"

"What are we doing? _You're the one who just tried to blow up the city!"_ Imperialdramon snapped at BlackWarGreymon. As much as he said that, the thought of introducing Dragomon to point blank annihilation hadn't escaped them. BlackWarGreymon scowled, "STAY OUT OF MY WAY! IF HE DESTROYS THIS WORLD, HE DESTROYS MY CREATOR. IT HAS TO _DIE_!"

"Does anyone know what he's talking about? _I feel like we missed something_ ," Shakkoumon turned his head in a full rotation to ask anyone who was listening. Everyone shrugged, just as lost on what BlackWarGreymon was talking about. Still, they had an opportunity to stop Dragomon now. As long as they kept BlackWarGreymon from going too far, he might actually defeat Dragomon. MetalGarurumon primed the engines on his back, roaring, "As long as he doesn't destroy the city, I say why not? The more the merrier!"

The engine roared to life and MetalGarurumon propelled forwards at Dragomon, slamming him back out into the water and creating an opening for BlackWarGreymon. The control spire mega hurried towards Dragomon and grabbed a hold of one of his leathery wings, lifting his massive form as it writhed and tried grabbing for BlackWarGreymon with its many tentacles.

"Cover him!" Imperialdramon howled, priming his cannon and firing another beam of red energy at the tentacles to burn them off, "Positron Laser!'

Dragomon roared in pain and howled in anger, his tentacles burning off. Something was different about the digimon now. It seemed weak. Vulnerable. The attacks that had done nothing previously were now hurting it. Seeing this, both MetalGarurumon and Shakkoumon began firing again, "Ice Wolf Claw!"

"Justice Beam!"

A barrage of missiles and red light rained down upon Dragomon, tearing off tentacles and burning off flesh. The digimon screamed in agony as they saw blood drawn for the first time. Dragomon was hurt and in pain. This made it all the easier for BlackWarGreymon to lift him further up. With one last effort, BlackWarGreymon began spinning the giant mass of Dragomon over his head. After a few spins, BlackWarGreymon threw the digimon straight into the sky. Dragomon screamed and flailed, reduced to a panicking mess. Then BlackWarGreymon raised his arms above his head again, "Terra Destroyer!"

A great ball of flame ignited over his head and he threw it with all his might at Dragomon. The tentacled monstrosity screamed in rage as it was consumed within the flame, turning to black ash and then smoke. Then the blast of fire exploded, creating a bright flash of light that parted the fog and revealed the wintry landscape of Tokyo. Everyone cheered excitedly for a second at the thought of finally stopping Dragomon.

Except Kari and Ken. The two of them swapped glances as they felt the cold chills linger and the dread stay with them. Then its voice called out, " _Sweet children of light. Return to the beginning. Return to the dark. A bottomless ocean and endless dream. Accepts all that is and may seem. What is light without the dark? What it dark without the light? Cling to your fear, the dreadful fright."_

Then they noticed BlackWarGreymon holding still in the sky, "It's still alive. It's running, but it's _alive_."

"Alive? You just blew that digimon up!" Imperialdramon pointed out. Neither Kari nor Ken were as sure that Dragomon was gone, still feeling a lingering unease and nausea that didn't subside.

"Hey!" Davis leapt between them and wrapped his arms around both their shoulders, "Why are you two looking so down for? We just kicked his ass."

"BlackWarGreymon did, Davis," Ken corrected and pointed ahead, "And he's still here."

BlackWarGreymon hovered just ahead of the digidestined, descending towards them slowly. Imperialdramon, Shakkoumon, and MetalGarurumon surrounded him as he came closer; and the spire digimon had to laugh at their efforts, "Do you honestly think you could stop me if you wanted to? Where is my creator?"

"Creator? You mean Arukenimon?" TK asked seriously. The digimon growled angrily and TK threw his hands, "We don't know! We're looking for her, too."

BlackWarGreymon fists tightened so hard that they heard his knuckles crack. TK continued, hoping to avoid angering the digimon more, "How'd you even get here?"

"A strange boy, in a blue cloak and goggles told me I would find answers beyond a gate he would make for me," BlackWarGreymon answered, adjusting his eyes towards Davis, "He sort of looked like you. Only he was more annoying. And he had that Agumon with him."

"Tai!" Kari gasped out, "He sent you here?"

"I never asked for his name, and I don't particularly care what it is," BlackWarGreymon answered, drifting further ahead, "He warned me that there was a great strength here trying to destroy this world. And if I wanted this world to exist long enough to meet my creator, then I would have to stop it first."

"But you've already met your creator," Ken interrupted quickly, "Arukenimon, remember? You told her that you don't take orders from her."

"I'm not talking about her," BlackWarGreymon growled, "Who made her? Who is her creator!?"

A pause followed as they tried to make sense of BlackWarGreymon's grumblings and Matt asked, "Do you mean Primary Village?"

"You humans are as helpful as always. If you can't help me, then I'll just go out and find the creator myself," BlackWarGreymon was about to ascend away. They quickly realized that the last thing they needed was a digimon on BlackWarGreymon's level running around free in Tokyo. TK blurted out, "Wait! Don't go. We're looking for Arukenimon too. We have a way to find her. If you promise to wait, we'll bring you to her. Is that a deal?"

"Why should I wait when I can go looking for her myself?" BlackWarGreymon growled out angrily. TK pointed out the nearby tanks rolling their way and answered, "Because the moments those tanks start shooting at you, she'll know you're here. And then you'll never find her as she goes on the run. So please, just wait a little bit and we'll take you to her! I swear!"

BlackWarGreymon's eye narrowed angrily as the tanks came into focus. For a moment, he seemed to contemplate actually fighting the SDF but he relented, "Fine. I'll wait. But I'm not going anywhere but here."

"That's fine," TK nodded before he was spun around by Cody, "Are you nuts!? The military's coming and you want to just leave him out in the open?"

"It'll only take a few minutes to run back home and ask mom where Oikawa is," TK answered, "Then we take BlackWarGreymon there and he leaves."

"I don't think that's such a good idea. I mean, who knows what BlackWarGreymon will do when he meets her," Yolei said quickly, only to be interrupted by the mega, "I'm not deaf or stupid. If you have anything to say to me, then _say it to me_."

Yolei swallowed a lump in her throat and remained quiet at the threat from the large digimon. As the tanks closed in, Sora announced, "We should probably get out of here. Come on guys."

"Okay, we'll be waiting nearby," TK assured BlackWarGreymon. Their digimon regressed to the In-Training levels and the digidestined retreated away from the beach moments before the first tanks and soldiers arrived. One of the soldiers approached BlackWarGreymon, trying to arrest him with a pair of flimsy handcuffs. From a distance, they could see BlackWarGreymon let the soldier put the cuffs on. Then, in the same breath, BlackWarGreymon broke the handcuffs and snapped the soldier's gun in half, "Better than you have tried to stop me. I'm waiting now. If you know what's good for you, you'll leave me alone. And if you really think you can fight me-"

BlackWarGreymon dug his foot into the sand and drew a line in front of him, "Then step over the line. I'll fight as many of you as are willing."

The soldier retreated back to the safety of the rest of his squad while the tank trained its cannon on him. A loud bang followed as the tank fired it main gun but BlackWarGreymon caught the shell in his hand, "Was that a challenge?"

Seeing this, the tank began rolling away backwards from the mega as he tossed the shell over his shoulder. With their support gone, the soldiers also retreated back to safety. Sora frowned, "You better move quick TK. Who knows how long BlackWarGreymon's temper will last."

"Yeah, I'll be right back," TK nodded as he raced back to his mom's apartment. He didn't live too far away, but for the first time he wished they lived closer to the beach.

 


	46. Mirror Battle

TK hurried back to his mom's apartment as quickly as he could, hoping that BlackWarGreymon's patience wouldn't wear out before he got back. But he wasn't going to bet on that Mega to have that kind of patience; not when the SDF was going to surround him. He just hoped the others would be okay, since there was no way they weren't seen after the battle with Dragomon.

He'd always thought the elevator in his apartment was too fast in the morning on the school days, but it seemed to be moving even slower than normal today. His partner sensed his unease and commented, "Slow down TK, you'll make yourself sick."

"I'll slow down when all this is done," TK replied quietly, thinking back on the events of the last few days and this morning too, "First, the digimon show up in the Real World. Then Dragomon comes back and now BlackWarGreymon's here. This is not how I thought this day would be going."

"How did you think it would go?" Patamon asked. TK shrugged, knowing how he _wanted_ it to go, "I just wanted to hang out with my friends and have Christmas with my family. Maybe visit the Digital World for a little bit. Was that so wrong?"

"I think it sounded nice," Patamon agreed, "And we can do it after all of this is over. We can all get together and have a huge party!"

"I'd like that buddy," TK smiled, excited at the idea of everyone getting together properly to celebrate. But first things first. They got off on their floor and ran over to his apartment where his mom sat anxiously at the dinner table and drummed her fingers as the news played on the television. She leapt off the chair with a smile on her face upon seeing him, "TK! You're alright! Thank goodness! I was watching everything on the news! I'm so glad you're safe."

"Hey mom," TK smiled as he ran to hug her. It was mostly for her sake since he knew how much she worried, but even he was uncomfortable with how long she was holding him. After a few minutes, he finally began gently pushing her away to signal that the hug was going on too long, "Mom, we need to find that old coworker of yours. Oikawa or whatever."

"Yukio? What do you want with him?" she gasped at the sound of his name. TK's answer wasn't going to be one she wanted to hear, "We think he's involved in all this but we don't know how much of it or why. He had a bunch of kids and he did something to them but we don't know what for."

"Kids? TK, that sounds like a job for the police," his mom countered, obviously trying to prevent TK from going after him. But there was something else there that TK noticed - a hesitation; a lingering doubt that someone she knew from a long time ago could've been involved in any of this. And he knew he had to convince her. So he explained, "He has digimon with him, mom. Digimon that are either working for him or with him. Either way, the police will be in over their heads if they go up against digimon. This is exactly like what happened last time!"

"Then what are you going to do?" Nancy asked, the worried look on her face growing with each moment. TK frowned, knowing she wasn't going to like the answer, "Figure out what his plans are and stop them."

"Do you honestly think he'll just tell you if you ask him?" Nancy asked with a raised eyebrow. TK thought about it. There was no reason for Oikawa to tell him, but that wasn't a reason for them to not try. He shrugged, "No. But we have to do whatever we can to stop him."

Nancy closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and sighed, "Fine, okay. But I'm coming with you. If Yukio has gone off the deep end, I want to see it for myself. No buts TK. I'm going. Like it or not."

TK was about to protest, fearing for his mom's life and how out of her depth she was going to be in if she came along. Then it hit him. This. This was exactly what she had been feeling every time he went off into danger. It made sense. It would be hypocritical of him to tell her no when he'd been sneaking out of his room to go find in the Digital World. His mouth still hung open, and he managed out, "Okay."

She grabbed her winter coat and her purse, checking its contents carefully with her back to them, then followed them outside while she explained, "He lives in an apartment across town but I don't think he'd be there now if what you're saying is true. It'd be too conspicuous and he'd be too easy to find. His family owns a small house up in the mountains that he'd always hide out in if he was working a seriously dangerous story. If he really is kidnapping kids, that's where he'd be hiding."

"Mountains? Where in the mountains?" TK asked, continuing to follow her out. She frowned, "The base of Mt. Fuji, near the lake. I don't know the address off the top of my head but I do know how to get there."

TK looked at his mom with utter disgust at the mention. Oikawa was a creep. How did she know how to get to his secret house? More to the point, he shivered at the thought of what they were doing in that house. He never really knew why his parents divorced because he was so young, and he was really hoping Oikawa had nothing to do with it. As they got on the elevator down stairs, she added, "Never tell your father this but the two of us hid out there years ago when we worked a story together on human trafficking by the Kuroihi Syndicate. Set off a fire storm. We had to use aliases because the yakuza didn't appreciate the bad press. Nothing came of it though. The story was killed by the higher ups. Anyway, that's in the past."

TK looked at his mother, unsure if he'd discovered a newfound respect or fear of her. She's worked a story on the yakuza and was alive to tell about it. If that was the case, it was no wonder Oikawa was able to pull a gun without hesitation. He wondered how many times he'd done that in the past and if he'd ever had to save his mom's life. Just thinking about it made him uneasy.

* * *

They returned to the rest of the digidestined still hiding in the alley not far from the beach. BlackWarGreymon had taken to taunting and challenging the many assembled soldiers and their tanks, insisting that all anyone had to do to fight him was cross the line in the sand. It didn't help that he'd somehow acquired one of the tanks and held it over his head with ease, as if he was bored by the lack of a fight and needed something to do.

Cody sighed in relief on seeing them, "Thank goodness you're back. BlackWarGreymon looks like he's itching for a fight."

"Any longer and we thought fer' sure he'd start fighting everything around him," Armadillomon added.

"What's your mom doing here dude?" Davis pointed her out in disbelief. Nancy cleared her throat, "I'd heard you were all going to see Yukio. I'm going with. He's an old friend of mine and if what TK says is true, then I need to see it for myself. If went off the deep end, I'll take care of it."

"That's the most terrifying thing I've ever heard a mom say," Tentomon shivered at the serious look on Nancy's face. Ken agreed, "Yeah, but she's also the only one who knows where to find Oikawa. Besides, we'll be there if anything goes wrong."

"You'd better digivolve us quick," Biyomon stated matter of factly, "The light will draw everyone our way. The faster we get out of here, the better."

"Yeah, just let me get BlackWarGreymon's attention," Davis poked his head out in time to see the powerful mega now had a tank in each arm and held them with ease over his head. Davis' jaw dropped in amazement, wondering when he had time to wrestle up another tank and start lifting them over his head like a work out. He had to wave to get BlackWarGreymon's attention, and the mega nodded upon seeing his arms flailing. With a casual shrug, the mega threw the tanks over his head into the waters behind him, sending the soldiers scrambling out to retrieve their expensive equipment. A few more tried to approach but he ascended skyward, "Okay, he knows we're going. Get ready."

Their digivices erupted with light as Biyomon, Tentomon, Veemon, and Hawkmon, Patamon, and Gatomon digivolved. Between Birdramon, Kabuterimon, ExVeemon, Aquilamon, Pegasusmon, and Nefertimon, they had more than enough seats for everyone to climb on and take off. BlackWarGreymon approached him once they were in the sky and demanded, "Well, I waited. Where are they?"

Nancy gasped at the sound of his deep, guttural voice. TK pointed at the distant outline of Mt. Fuji and answered, "There. We're looking for an old house near a lake. Mom is the only one who knows what we're looking for."

"TK, please tell me that he's not as dangerous as he sounds," his mom whispered into his ear and he had to anxiously answer, "He is. The good news is he's not trying to kill us right now, and I don't think he will as long as we're on the same side."

His answer didn't exactly put his mom at ease and she shot him the most warning look. He was definitely going to be yelled at again tonight. If he lived long enough for that to happen. No, that was definitely going to happen - whether he lived or died. He envisioned his mom yelling at his dead body in anger, and the morbid idea made him laugh more than he should. He shook his head in disbelief, wondering what was wrong with him.

They all shivered as they flew through the skies over Tokyo, seeing that there was still plenty of clean up going on from Christmas Eve. However, the mess didn't stop people from trying to enjoy their Christmas. It wasn't just them enjoying it, though. TK couldn't help but notice that Matt had wrapped his arms around Sora as they flew atop Birdramon's back. Even though he said he was doing it to keep them both warm, their faces were too red for it to just be the cold.

* * *

Arukenimon stood guard outside the lonely house on the edge of the forest, contemplating recent events and wondering what specific action she had committed in the last few days to deserve being alone in the cold. It was already freezing because it was winter. It didn't help that she could easily look inside the windows and see Oikawa sitting at his desk and calmly working on his computer. Mummymon was also inside, and she could see him keeping busy in the kitchen doing who knew what.

Oikawa never ate so he wasn't making anything for him. At least, as far as she knew. Perhaps he was secretly a plant and got his energy from the sun. Not knowing made her anxious but these thoughts were all she had to entertain herself against the bitter winds blowing against her face. Still, she could think of worse things than this.

At least, that was the case until Mummymon came outside holding two steaming mugs in his hand. She put a hand to her head and massaged her temple, seeing one of those worse things just as he began to speak, "I thought you would be cold, Arukenimon. So I prepared some hot cocoa for you."

Freezing and not really in the mood for a fight, she took the cup and quietly began sipping away at it. Unfortunately for her, Mummymon didn't leave and instead took a seat beside her, "Y'know, this place really is quite romantic. A lovely view at a lovely time of year with a lovely lady at my-"

"Finish that sentence and you'll be drowning in your cocoa," she spat out, hoping that he'd take the hint and leave.

"Come now, Arukenimon. There was no need to give me the cold shoulder."

No such luck. And now he was making puns. She sighed, "Mummymon. I'm only going to say this once. _We_ are _never_ going to happen. We are _not_ going to be a thing. So give it a rest and save us both the embarrassment of having to deal with whatever you're doing."

"That's fine. I'll know you'll come around," Mummymon winked at her with his bulbously yellow eye. Arukenimon stifled back a gag before asking, "What is he doing in there?"

"No idea. He keeps muttering to himself," Mummymon answered uneasily, no longer sounding like a school boy in love, "Keeps saying the name Hiroki over and over again. It's like listening to a conversation and only hearing half of it. Y'know, like he's on a phone."

Arukenimon grunted her understanding, taking another long sip of her cocoa to muse over what he was thinking. Mummymon raised an eyebrow, "Something on your mind?"

"Don't worry about it," she spat at him. Mummymon frowned, "Arukenimon, I know that face. Actually, I know all there is to know about you. But that's besides the point. Something is wrong. Tell me."

Arukenimon clicked her tongue angrily, "Something the digidestined said has been bothering me for a long time. They claim that we're pawns to a digimon called Myotismon. Does that name mean anything to you?"

"Should it?"

"That's precisely my point," Arukenimon said, "Oikawa has always been a little odd. I mean, he made us from his own DNA - didn't he? Digital life forms from organic material. But lately, he's been more erratic. He told Dragomon and Daemon where he could find the two digidestined brats. He let those two loose in the human world because of his plan. Which makes me wonder. What could be so bad that he'd let them loose as a distraction? What exactly is he hiding?"

"He needed that so he could implant the spores in the other children," Mummymon pointed out, but that just made Arukenimon more nervous, "You don't need to let those two loose in the Real World to accomplish that. We could've acquired Ichijouji any number of ways that didn't require an invasion. So why? Who is Myotismon? And more importantly, how will any of this exactly open a gate to the Digital World?"

"Well, if you were trying to scare me then mission accomplished," Mummymon nodded quietly to her. Arukenimon nodded in silent contemplation before saying, "Whoever or whatever this Myotismon is, I bet that it has something to do with whatever Oikawa is hiding over there. Which means the two of us will have to be very careful around him. And if things go south, then - as much as I hate to admit - all we've have to rely on is each other."

She began to regret that poor choice of words as Mummymon began to giggle excitedly, "Ooh, we'll go on the run. It'll be just like Bonnie and Clyde! Wait, were we having a moment?"

"Far from it," Arukenimon scoffed, returning to sipping her cocoa enthusiastically before she noticed something coming their way over the horizon. A small group of digimon coming their way, ridden by the digidestined and an adult woman Arukenimon didn't recognize, "Oh you've got to be kidding me. What are they doing here?"

"The digidestined? How did the find us?" Mummymon gasped out, "Oikawa said this place was hidden. Only...wait, is that...BlackWarGreymon!?"

Arukenimon narrowed her eyes to focus but the outline was unmistakable - BlackWarGreymon was coming their way and likely not to pay a friendly visit. She dropped the mug of cocoa and turned around, only to bump into Oikawa standing there with a bemused frown on his face. She panicked, wondering how long he had been standing there and wondering how much he'd heard. He looked down at her, "Be a dear and get the keys. We may have to make a quick exit."

Arukenimon gulped and hurried inside just, hearing Oikawa's order for Mummymon, "And get some cocoa started for our guests. I'm sure they're unlikely to leave without the answers they want."

* * *

BlackWarGreymon was the first one to hit the ground, the rest of the digidestined following not far behind. To TK's utter frustration, Oikawa offered them a disgusting smile, "Well, look who managed to find me all the way out in my little hide away. What do you want?"

Neither Arukenimon nor Mummymon were present which meant two things - either they were busy with something else or were setting up to ambush them. The good news would be that they had numbers on their side. Ken answered, "You know why. What have you done to the other kids? And what-"

"NO!" BlackWarGreymon roared, "He is mine to question. You can go next if there's anything left when I'm done."

Before anyone could stop him, BlackWarGreymon lifted Oikawa up by the collar of his shirt and growled, "Are you my creator?"

Oikawa barely flinched, seeming uneasy but not in fear of his life. He sighed, "In a manner of speaking yes. I created Arukenimon and Mummmymon by scanning samples of my blood, then converting the DNA code into binary. From there, I expressed that binary code into a format that the Digital World could interpret. Thus, I created them. And Arukenimon was the one who manipulated the control spires to give birth to you. However, it was Ken Ichijouji who came up with the design for the control spire. So he's also your creator in a way. Then again, so would every single enslaved digimon he forced to build the control spires that made you. None of that matters though if you don't consider the fact that the technology the control spires are modeled after comes from a long dead race of beings from before us. Well, mostly dead. There's one really annoying one still running around somewhere out there."

BlackWarGreymon grunted at the question and dropped Oikawa, "You talk just like that annoying boy. Are you related to him?"

"Oh, you've met the Digimon Tamer," Oikawa mused turning his gaze towards Kari, "Thankfully no. I have enough problems without having a brother complex to deal with."

In just a few short minutes of his arrival, the man had managed to rub nearly everyone present the wrong way. Pegasusmon was just about to charge when BlackWarGreymon looked over his shoulder, "Take one more step towards him and I'll end you. I need answers."

"Answers to what?" Oikawa asked with a half smile.

"What was the point of any of this? What is the reason for my existence? Battle doesn't satisfy me any more. So why do I exist?" BlackWarGreymon demanded angrily. Oikawa frowned, before snickering. Then laughing in BlackWarGreymon's face. The mega became annoyed and would've struck Oikawa down if he hadn't answered quickly.

"Is that what you came here to ask me? Why do you exist? Don't be so stupid, BlackWarGreymon. You're an anomaly. Something that wasn't supposed to happen. I bet The Digimon Tamer would spout some nonsense about destiny here or whatever but the truth is you're a fluke. A bunch of energy sapping control spires molded together to create a living, breathing life form that somehow managed to develop a conscious. Against all possible odds, you developed the ability to think. None of that is my fault. To be honest, you only came about because of a moment of stupidity on Arukenimon's part. You have no role in any of my plans. You're an accident at best and a nuisance at worst. Why do you think I ordered Arukenimon to kill you? To be fair - it was quite difficult which is a credit to who you are. After all, you're a walking mass of over a hundred control spires. You literally sap the life out of any digital life form around you. Why do you think everyone has such a hard time fighting you - you grow stronger with every passing second and everything else gets just that little bit weaker. How does it feel knowing that everything you touch dies a little just from being around you?"

BlackWarGreymon roared, raising his gauntlet over his head and bringing it crashing down onto Oikawa only to find his path blocked by another - an orange digimon similar to him in golden armor.

"WarGreymon!" Kari gasped aloud upon seeing the digimon appear from nowhere. She frantically scanned the surroundings for some kind of tear or gate that he could have used to come here but found nothing. Nefertimon and Davis both tried to calm her down, but TK had his attention square on the two megas. BlackWarGreymon was dangerous enough on his own. Who knew what kind of damage these two could cause if they broke out into a fight here and now.

Yet, BlackWarGreymon realized there was something familiar about him. BlackWarGreymon recognized this power from long ago - the Agumon atop Infinity Mountain. He'd finally released his true power but it was too late for BlackWarGreymon to care. He warned, "Stay out of my way. I have my answers and I see what my purpose is now - to exact vengeance on this man for my creation and destroy him."

"Yes, please. Do kill me if it'll make you feel better. Spoiler alert: it wont. But knock yourself out," Oikawa rolled his eyes in disbelief, "It would even serve your purpose, wouldn't it digidestined? Stopping me. But that would be against destiny, wouldn't it? But what do I know? Let's ask Tamer! If he were here."

"Now would be a good time to stop talking," WarGreymon warned Oikawa. The man just laughed at the idle threat while BlackWarGreymon snapped, "My fight isn't with you. Stay out of way, or I will end you!"

"You can't kill him," WarGreymon answered, giving a great push and shoving BlackWarGreymon back so that he took several steps away, "You're a guest in this world. We let you through to find the answers you wanted. You've got them."

Oikawa mused, "Oh, so you've been watching? Well then, I'm sure you wouldn't mind explaining your absence to the digidestined here."

"I don't care about anything as stupid as that! Get out of my way, or so help me I'll end you!" BlackWarGreymon advanced on Oikawa only to find WarGreymon obscuring his path, "Do you think you have what it takes to get through me?"

"I WILL!" BlackWarGreymon howled, throwing himself at WarGreymon. The mega did the same and the two digimon collided with enough force to knock everyone on to the ground. Then they ascended straight into the sky, grappling with each other and trying to deal the final blow to each other. Kari gasped, Davis's fists clenched, and TK shouted, "Pegasusmon! Help WarGreymon out!"

"On it!" Pegasusmon spread his wings and he soared into the air to join the battle but was stopped by a serpentine bandage latching onto his leg and dragging him to the ground. And at the other end of that bandage was Mummymon carrying a tray of steaming mugs filled with cocoa in his other hand, "Might I interject for a moment to say that it'd be better for your health to leave those two be? I'm not sayin that to pick a fight. I'm saying that because those two are probably going to destroy half of Japan before they're done. Let's face it. One of them is walking nuke and we know how well fighting him has gone in the past. Now there's two of them. That is a tragedy waiting to happen. It'd be better to run away for your own safety."

"Like hell we are!" Sora announced, "We're not running away from anything, right guys?"

She looked at the rest of the digidestined who nodded in silent agreement and raised their digivices above their heads. In a single unified flash of light, Garudamon, MetalGarurumon, Zudomon, MegaKabuterimon, and Ankylomon appeared to leap into the sky and help WarGreymon. Garudamon looked back and shouted, "We'll take care of BlackWarGreymon. You guys get Mummymon."

"On it," Ankylomon nodded and charged ahead to fight Mummymon. The digimon sighed, "Good heavens, children these days are so violent. Well, we can't have that now can we? Here, let your mummy teach you some manners!"

Nefertimon, Pegasusmon, Stingmon, ExVeemon and Aquilamon charged straight at Mummymon, and the rest of the digidestined followed along to cheer their partners on. This just left TK and his mom facing down Oikawa. He sighed, "Children these days just have no sense of urgency or importance. Except for you t-Nancy!? What are you doing here?"

Oikawa's tone attitude changed upon seeing TK's mother, and that made him all the more nervous nervous. She walked towards him slowly, keeping her purse close by as she spoke, "TK said that you were involved in all this. He said you were either causing it or close to whoever was. I didn't believe it myself to be honest but I figured I should trust him anyway since he and his friends are the ones who are supposed to stop this. Still, I had to come and see it for my own eyes. Is this what you've been doing? Plotting the end of the world?"

Oikawa closed his eyes and sighed, taking a long drawn breath before answering, "You're close but a bit off the mark. Yes, I am involved but no, I'm not plotting the end of the world. Think about what happened years ago, Nancy. Monsters from another world showed up on our door step and tore our city apart. Lives lost, families heart broken, parents burying their children. I'm doing what I must to make it right. But don't misunderstand. This isn't revenge. Not by any measure. As for your son, he and his friends aren't the heroes chosen to defend the Digital World so much as to defend the status quo. The natural order of things as you will. Destiny or whatever. And the only way I can accomplish my plan is if I eliminate them now before they become a threat to that plan."

"You sound just like Myotismon," TK interrupted, letting it all sink in, "You're either working with him or for him."

Oikawa frowned, "I don't have the foggiest idea what a Myotismon is nor do I care. I'm so close, I just need a bit more time."

"And what does this have to do with those kids you kidnapped?" TK's mom asked. Oikawa raised an eyebrow, "Kidnapped? Nancy, I haven't kidnapped anyone. Those kids volunteered for this. They wanted this. Or, I'm sorry, do you actually believe that nobody noticed the monsters from another world showing up at our doorstep? Another one rampaged on the internet and fired nukes. And people noticed the eight kids running around with these monsters for friends. You'd better believe that there were plenty of envious children in the world. All I did was offer them what they wanted. Which is more than what your son would have ever done."

"Okay, why are you picking on us? What have we done?" TK asked defensively, surprised by the sudden hostility aimed exclusively at him of all people. Oikawa shrugged, "Nothing in particular. If anything else, the only other personal connection I have is with Cody."

"Me!?" Cody repeated quietly, "What did I do?"

Oikawa seemed miffed by the response, "Hmph. I suppose your mother and grandfather wouldn't have told you about me. The fact is Cody, I was a friend of your father's. His best friend. We did everything together. I was his best man when he married your mother, although she refused to let me sign as your godfather when you were born. And then…the invasion happened. He died, falling in the line of duty like I always thought he would. And it pissed me off. Why did he have to die when it's their fault!"

He pointed an accusatory finger at TK and Kari when he said that, but collected himself after a deep breath, "The fact of the matter is that I hold it against you digidestined for what you've done and what you've allowed to transpire. As well as not doing more to stop it."

"And that's when I heard enough," TK's mom announced, reaching into her purse to pull a gun of her own out. A small pistol that she trained on Oikawa. A bang followed and TK's heart stopped - terrified by what he'd witnessed.

His mom let out a yelp in pain and fell backwards on to the ground, dropping her gun and holding her knee in her arms. She squeezed it tight to staunch the flow of blood that was coming out. It happened so quickly that TK was only able to process the unbridled rage boiling up inside of him. He looked over at Oikawa, holding a pistol of his own that he'd pulled from his coat pocket. He was about to rush the man when he trained it on TK, "Mind your distance, TK. I shot your mom's knee. It's hardly fatal but it can be if you don't get her to a hospital soon. Now, try to keep that temper of yours under control. Yes, I know how you get around the 'darkness' or whatever. Personally, I think it's just an excuse to throw a tantrum. I…hang on, SHUT UP!"

The sudden outburst and nothing threw them all for a loop. Especially when Oikawa turned the gun on his mom, "And you, Nancy. I'm disappointed. How many times have we had this conversation? I am and always will be the faster draw. Yes, yes...yes, I know! I SAID I KNOW!"

Another outburst at nothing. It took a moment for him to settle down and retrain the gun, "I may not be the best shot. To be honest, I was aiming for your gun, but your knee works just as well. If nothing else, you should be happy that I didn't hit anything vital. Now, if you don't mind, I have a van to catch. You won't be following us. Mummymon!"

In the distance, TK could see Mummymon retreating away from the fight to rejoin Oikawa. Right on cue, the white van pulled up just behind them driven by Arukenimon. She adjusted her glasses to wink at TK mockingly as Oikawa joined her on the passenger side. Mummymon leapt atop the van and gleefully announced, "You heard the man! Don't follow us. Hahaha!"

He sprayed a burst of fire at their feet as the van started moving, showing them the order to not follow. Both Yolei and Cody looked down at TK's mom before announcing they were going to get Joe. Meanwhile, TK finally went to his mom's side to make sure she was okay.

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" his mom repeated. She tore off her coat and began wrapping it as tight as she could just above her leg. TK shook his head, "What were you thinking mom!?"

"I was trying to protect you," she spat back, agitated and trying to not scream in pain, "You think I liked the idea of you doing any of this? I saw a chance to protect you and I took it. I was just hoping he'd gotten sloppy with his gun."

TK couldn't believe what he was hearing, "Mom, were you going to-"

"-kill him? Yeah, that was the plan," she answered quietly, tightening the bandage in the hopes of decreasing the blood flow. Cody and Yolei returned with Joe not long after and the older boy gasped, "Oh crap, that's not good. I don't have any stuff with me. Let's get her inside as fast as we can. TK! Help me out, because we're going to have to lock her arms together to make a chair!"

"I'm fine," his mom scolded them, only to be cut off by Joe, "You're bleeding. Now stop talking and let us help."

With Joe's instruction, they managed to lock arms and carry his mom into Oikawa's house. They laid her down on the couch, with Joe putting a few pillows under her feet to keep her leg elevated, "Okay, this should slow it down. I'm going to see if he has a first aid kit around here somewhere before we get her to a hospital! Davis, I'm going to need your help carrying stuff!"

"And I'll go see if I can find his computer," Yolei chimed, hurrying to look around the small cabin. Kari and Ken followed to help, leaving TK and Cody alone with his mom. Cody frowned at them both, "I sort of see where TK gets it now."

"Not the time Cody," TK seethed angrily, trying to keep himself from punching something in frustration. His mom grimaced, her eyes growing heavy, "Never been shot before. I've been shot at, but I don't think I've ever been hit. Wow, this pain fucking sucks."

"Mom!" TK gasped out, his voice shaking with anger and surprised by the language she used. His mom offered a smile as she closed her eyes, "Calm down, TK. It'll be fine."

* * *

Miles above, the two WarGreymons traded blows to try and stop the other. Frustrated that he was unable to get past his counterpart, BlackWarGreymon shouted, "GET OUT OF MY WAY! HE HAS TO DIE!"

WarGreymon ducked and weaved through the attacks, "You're angry. I get it. Don't take it out on him and don't take it out on the others. They're victims in all of this too!"

"The only victim I see will be Oikawa when I turn his body into a pile of ash!" BlackWarGreymon roared at the top of his lungs, doing his best to push his way through WarGreymon, "This is your last warning!"

He threw another punch so hard that WarGreymon had to block it with his armor, "BRAVE SHIELD!"

The punch cracked the shield and broke it into tiny pieces, worrying WarGreymon that she was in danger. It seemed impossible to think anyone could even come close to shattering it. Then again, this was BlackWarGreymon. He retreated away just as MetalGarurumon slammed into him from the side, "Stop it BlackWarGreymon!"

"Get out of my way!" BlackWargreymon grappled the mechanical hound and lifted him over his head. He threw him as hard as he could towards MegaKabuterimon and Garudamon who just barely managed to get out of his way at the last second. Seeing the rest of the digimon coming to fight him angered the mega even more, especially when Zudomon's threw his hammer so hard that it bounced off his head, "Vulcan's Hammer!"

BlackWarGreymon was thrown back, growling at their continued interference and searching for an opening to get to Oikawa. The digidestined were nothing if not persistent. The flying digimon were now surrounding him, and he had no intention of being held back now. He rushed towards Garudamon next - grabbing her by her arm and throwing her aside. Before he could move on to MegaKabuterimon, WarGreymon grabbed his leg and use the momentum to spin him around, "Stay back! You're outclassed!"

"We're here to help," MetalGarurumon growled, "He blew apart the Digital World while you were knocked out! Don't kick us out of the fight just because you're here now."

"I can get through to him. I can calm him down. I just need time!" WarGreymon explained, "He doesn't have to die!"

"Doesn't or can't?" MegaKabuterimon asked. WarGreymon groaned, "Does it matter?"

"YES!" they all shouted at once. WarGreymon grunted, "Ugh, fine! BlackWarGreymon!"

"DIE!" the mega howled as he charged at WarGreymon again. This time, the mega level digimon did nothing to avoid the strike, instead taking the hit as hard as he could. He used that chance to grab hold of BlackWarGreymon's arm and held him there while fighting through the pain, "Listen! This isn't your fate - this isn't your purpose. You don't have to kill Oikawa."

"And how would you know that?" BlackWarGreymon growled angrily. WarGreymon went on, "Because you can be better. Remember what I said? You have a conscience. You can choose whatever you want to do with your life. And killing him will only leave you with the same sense of anger and emptiness that led you to us in the first place!"

"That's where You're wrong! I'll feel complete once he's dead!" BlackWarGreymon roared, beginning to punch WarGreymon in the face. WarGreymon tanked each hit, still holding on as hard as he could but beginning to waver with each successive blow. When BlackWarGreymon struck his skull hard enough that his helmet started to break, MetalGarurumon finally joined, "That's it. I'm getting in there!"

"No stay back!" WarGreymon warned too late, as MetalGarurumon rammed the two megas at his top speed. All three of them spun in the air, before correcting themselves and MetalGarurumon demanded, "We're trying to help you stop him!"

"You're trying to kill him, I'm trying to talk him down," WarGreymon countered, "BlackWarGreymon! Listen, this doesn't have to end violently!"

"It will if you don't get out of my way!" BlackWarGreymon used a free arm to grab MetalGarurumon and use him to start beating WarGreymon, "I'll use you as many times as a club as I need to until you learn to stay out of my way!"

* * *

Davis and Ken rejoined the fight outside in time to see BlackWarGreymon throw WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon aside. The rest of their digimon - ExVeemon, Stingmon, Nefertimon, Ankylomon, Pegasusmon, and Aquilamon - kept their distance with Zudomon, Garudamon, and MegaKabuterimon. With how out of their league they were, the most they could hope for was to slow BlackWarGreymon down if he tried to leave. Davis looked to Matt and Sora, "What can we do to help?"

"WarGreymon's trying to talk sense into BlackWarGreymon," Sora answered, "But it's not working. Our digimon are trying to stop him but only MetalGarurumon's been able to get in there."

"Then maybe it's time we got in there, right dude?" Davis raised his digivice and looked over at Ken nodding in agreement, "Let's finish this."

Together, their digivices flashed with bright light towards their partners as they began to digivolve, "ExVeemon! Stingmon! DNA Digivolve to! Paildramon!"

"Paildramon! Digivolve to! Imperialdramon!"

The dragon digimon rose up into the air to join the fight - slamming into all three megas to separate them. BlackWarGreymon squared off against all three of them and seemed almost delighted by Imperialdramon's presence, "You've gotten stronger. I wonder how much stronger you are now?"

"Don't you do it Imperialdramon," WarGreymon warned, only to be ignored as Imperialdramon started priming the cannon on his back, " _Why don't you stand there and find out_? POSITRON LASER!"

"TERRA DESTROYER!" BlackWarGreymon raised his arms above his head to summon a large ball of fire that he threw at Imperialdramon. At that same moment, Imperialdramon's cannon fired and the two blasts hurried towards each other. The beam collided with BlackWarGreymon's ball of fire, creating a massive explosion in the sky so bright that it darkened the world around them. When the light cleared, all four mega digimon were still in the air and MetalGarurumon groaned, "Well that accomplished nothing. Any other ideas?"

" _No, we were throwing everything we had at him._ He's a tough one that's for sure," Imperialdramon answered, "I am open to suggestions, though."

WarGreymon joined them, hovering just above MetalGarurumon, "If I give you guys the power you need to stop him, do you promise to only beat him until he can't get up?"

"He might die before that happens," Imperialdramon pointed out. WarGreymon added, "I don't want to kill him. I just want him to stop moving. Maybe then he'll start listening to me."

" _I can promise that we won't kill him so long as he stays down before he dies._ Fat chance of that happening," Imperialdramon answered. WarGreymon sighed, "It'll have to do. Okay, hit him with everything you have."

WarGreymon's body glowed with dazzling orange and golden light. It leapt from his body onto Imperialdramon and invigorating him with a surge of strength he hadn't felt before. At the same time, WarGreymon regressed back to Agumon and landed on MetalGarurumon's back. Before either the metal wolf or the dragon could even begin to ask what was going on, the energy erupted inside and coursed through his body, "Imperialdramon! Mode Shift to! Imperialdramon Fighter Mode!"

MetalGarurumon hovered in the air slack jawed while BlackWarGreymon became more annoyed, "I don't care how many modes you shift through! I will break you!"

It took Imperialdramon a second to adjust to his new body - hands, legs, a chest that had been his head moments ago and a head that had grown out of his back. More importantly, the cannon that had been on his back shifted over to his right arm. Perhaps it was the excess energy of the digivolution, but the cannon was also primed and ready. The glowing ball of energy inside it grew ever larger, which was just as well as BlackWarGreymon looked ready to strike again. He summoned another ball of black fire over his head and cried out, "Terra Destroyer!"

"Positron Laser!"

"We should go," Agumon suggested to MetalGarurumon who nodded quietly, "Sounds good to me."

The wolf fled as the two attacks collided in the air, only this time the beam of energy absorbed the ball of fire thrown by BlackWarGreymon and kept on going - straight into BlackWarGreymon's face. The mega barely had time to react as he was hit full force by the blast. Drained and tired, Imperialdramon began to sag in the air until regressing back into Veemon and Wormmon. The two digimon fell in the air, screaming at the top of their lungs until MetalGarurumon moved in to catch them.

BlackWarGreymon was less fortunate and fell to the ground like a rock. Agumon reached out to the digimon in shock, "No!"

"We got him!" Garudamon and MegaKabuterimon cried, moving in with their arms outstretched to catch the mega before he he came too close to the ground.

Once on the ground, Garudamon set the mega down and the others moved in to surround him to make sure he didn't get back up. The only reason they didn't try to gang on him was Agumon pleading to have a little more time to reason with him. BlackWarGreymon noted his insistence and groaned, "Why do you keep trying to spare me?"

"Because you can be better than this," Agumon reasoned, "You _have to be_ better. But for some really dumb reason, you keep choosing to fight. You keep choosing to be nothing more than the mindless monster Arukenimon made you to be."

"You heard it from Oikawa yourself," BlackWarGreymon grunted, "That's all I ever was. I'm an accident. A mistake that was never supposed to happen."

"So what?" Agumon asked seriously. BlackWarGreymon turned his head to look at the little rookie, sheepishly repeating the message right back, "So what?"

"Yeah. So you're a mistake. Big deal. You can't do anything about how you were born or who made you. No one can control where their life starts. What they can control is what they do with their life. It's what Azulongmon and I have been trying to tell you! You can be so much better than what you are."

BlackWarGreymon grunted and pushed himself back up, "I wanted purpose. I went looking for my creator to find it. I found him. I still have no purpose. What is the reason I exist? What is the reason any of us exist?"

"I don't have an answer for you about that," Agumon frowned, "No one does. Everyone has to figure that out for themselves. The digidestined, their partners, their friends, digimon, and human alike. They all have to figure that out for themselves."

"Yeah, like we had a choice in becoming digidestined," Matt grumbled under his breath, while Sora elbowed him. Agumon smiled sheepishly, "If it helps out, you won't have to worry about it forever. Some day, the Digital World won't need you as its protectors. After that, it's up to you what you want to do with the rest of your lives."

"Hmph," BlackWarGreymon turned around, "More useless talking. If it is dependent on each of us to choose our own purpose, then I choose to stop Oikawa. He thinks my existence serves no purpose. So I will make it my purpose to obstruct him."

"We're trying to do the same thing," Davis added cheerfully, "But, we're not trying to kill him. That's…kinda going too far. We can work together to stop him, but only if you promise not to kill him."

BlackWarGreymon closed his eyes and heaved a sigh, turning towards Veemon and Wormmon, "You're going to become Imperialdramon again if I say no, aren't you?"

"Basically yeah," Wormmon nodded quietly. Ken adjusted his glasses, "I think what everyone's trying to say is we don't have to kill him to stop him from whatever he's doing. There are better ways to do it."

BlackWarGreymon remained silent, "Fine. I'll do it your way for now. How do I leave for the Digital World? I have no interest in lingering here any longer until you find Oikawa again."

"Leave that to me!" Agumon said cheerily, producing a digivice from nowhere. With a single button press, a tear opened in front of them through which they could see the Digital World, "I probably shouldn't be doing this since the boundary between worlds is still weak but we can use it just this once to go back to the Digital World."

"Where are we going?" BlackWarGreymon asked quietly. Agumon smiled, "I think you and Azulongmon still have to finish that talk you were having. He told me all about how you walked off before he could get his point across."

"Hmph, more talking," BlackWarGreymon sighed. As they passed through the barrier to the other side, Davis finally sighed, "Well, that's that."

"For now," MetalGarurumon asked, "Now let's go help go after. How did things go with Oikawa?"

"Hang on a second, where's TK and mom?" Matt asked as he finally took note of his surroundings. Ken frowned, realizing that he would have to be the bearer of bad news, "About that."

* * *

Yolei returned from scouring the small cabin with a small flash drive in her hand, "I found something!"

She brought it out into the living room where Joe was continuing to take care of TK's mom, and trying to keep her talking. He'd found a first aid kit in the bathroom and was using it to help care for her. He'd just finished treating the bandage when she heard the front door slam open and Matt came running in with everyone else just behind him, "MOM!"

The noise startled the poor woman wide awake, "Matt?"

"Mom, are you okay?" Matt asked as he pushed Joe aside. She nodded, "Yeah, just got shot, that's all. Is everyone okay?"

"We're fine. How are you?" Matt asked sounding more scared than before. She nodded reassuringly but Joe countered, "She's not doing great. We need to get her to a hospital right away. My dad will be able to help and he won't ask too many questions. But we'll have to get going soon."

"Then what are we waiting for? Help me carry her!" Matt shouted as he already tucked his arms under his mom. Joe did the same and she yelped as soon as they started moving her, "MetalGarurumon will be able to get us in and out of the city real quick."

"I'll come too," TK said, hurrying outside with them. As they were heading back outside, Yolei approached Izzy and handed him the flash drive, "I found something in Oikawa's office. Could you open it on your laptop?"

"I can try," Izzy said, stopping in his to look at the rest of them, "Hey, we'll catch up. You guys go ahead."

Matt wasn't waiting for them anyway and was already loading his mom onto MetalGarurumon's back - with TK helping to support her. As soon as they saw the state she was in, the rest of the digidestined knew it was time to leave. The rest of the digidestined took off, leaving only Izzy, Ken, Yolei, Aquilamon, MegaKabuterimon, and Wormmon. Izzy opened his laptop to insert the drive and view the files. After a few clicks he smiled out, "It's full of chat logs from an IRC. It's all about digimon and the Digital World. Wait, there's another file in here - it's an address book."

"An address book?" Yolei repeated quietly, "Maybe it's for the kids we saw."

"It has to be," Ken frowned, "But why would he just leave this here for us to find? Unless..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the screen on Izzy's computer became distorted and a message appeared: 'Don't open files from unknown sources.' Izzy went into a panic, "No! No! NO! What it this? A virus! Or a….no, no. Hang on. I can fix it! I can-"

His screen went black. Izzy removed the drive and tried to turn his computer back on, but nothing happened. He frowned, "No! No! Come on! No! My computer's broke!"

"Did you get any of the addresses?" Ken asked, "That could be our only lead to the other kids!"

"Just one," Izzy frowned, mumbling over the loss of his computer, "Noriko Kawada in Ota. Oh man."

"I'm sorry about your computer, Izzy," MegaKabuterimon offered sheepishly to the boy. Izzy frowned and whimpered, "I have back ups but...this was my first computer! I took such good care of it, too."

"It may not be much but it's something. We got what we need. We'd better get out of here," Ken suggested, "The fight probably attracted a lot of attention and who knows what'll happen if any of those military followed us here."

Without a word of protest, the rest of their group headed out back for Tokyo - leaving behind the lonely winter cabin with answers to some questions, but not all the ones they wanted.

 


	47. Countdown

Joe managed to get TK and Matt's mom to his dad's work quietly, landing some distance away from the hospital and helping her limp inside slowly. Once they were in the Emergency Room lobby, Joe helped her into a wheelchair with Matt and TK while he borrowed one of the receptionist's phones to call his dad directly. While Joe was on the phone, Matt borrowed a payphone to call their dad and tell him about what happened. TK could tell from the expressions Matt was making that their dad was furious and would be on his way. After the phone call ended, Joe's dad appeared in the lobby looking annoyed that he'd been bothered to come down. Then his attitude shifted to concern once he saw Nancy and went to look at her, "Shit. Son, what the hell were you waiting on me for? She needs to be in the OR now!"

"Sorry dad," Joe apologized sheepishly, "You were the only doctor I knew who wouldn't ask too many questions."

"It's a good thing that we're so busy. The OR is already prepped and no one's going to ask much about her situation," Joe's dad added, moving over to examine her knee, "I'm guessing you did this emergency treatment? It's not bad. If this had anything to do with the digimon showing up a couple of nights ago, I'd prefer to not know. We'll go ahead and wheel her in. You boys can wait in the OR."

"Thanks dad," Joe nodded. Without another word, Dr. Kido wheeled Nancy straight back in the Emergency Room.

"Thank you Mr. Kido," Matt added too. TK just nodded quietly, still seething with anger while their mom faded in and out of awareness.

They followed Joe into the hospital, through the winding hallways and into a large lobby with a large screen listing patient names - their OR number, time since entry, and time until completion. To his frustration, his mom's name was on there and listed as awaiting a room.

He hated seeing her like this - he hated that this was his fault. She'd put herself in harm's way to protect him. This was all his fault. No, this was Oikawa's fault. And he'd make Oikawa pay for it. If BlackWarGreymon had been given one more second, if WarGreymon hadn't intervened, Oikawa would've never had the chance to pull his gun. His mom would be okay. This…was all their fault.

"Hey," Matt placed a hand on his shoulder, pulling TK out of his thoughts. Seeing the smile on his face calmed him down, but it left him wondering just how far his thoughts would've gone if he'd been allowed to go that far. His older brother sensed his unease and patted his shoulder to calm him, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," TK answered quietly, but his brother's expression indicated that he didn't believe him, "You don't look it."

TK had no answer to that, keeping his eyes fixed on his mom's name on the board and wondering how long it would be until she went in. Matt seemed to pick up on it and sighed, "It wasn't your fault TK."

TK clicked his tongue angrily, "But it was. Mom was always trying to keep me out of trouble and all I ever did was cause trouble. And I'm the one who brought her! This _is_ my fault."

"TK!" Matt did something he'd never done to him before. He'd balled his hand into a fist and planted it firmly on his cheek. The sound of it was so loud that it briefly made everyone in the room turn to look at the two brothers. Even Joe had his eyebrows raised, peering over his glasses and mumbling, "Never thought I'd see the day."

"Sorry bro," Matt smirked, pushing TK's hat down over his face, "You looked like you needed some sense beat into you. Look, it happened. I'm mad at Oikawa too. But blaming yourself isn't going to help it. If you want to help it, then calm down for mom's sake. And help me keep dad from killing us both when he gets here. We'll deal with Oikawa when we catch up to the others."

TK looked at his brother grimly, still caught between the shock of being hit by his older and the anger he felt towards Oikawa. They still had dad to think about and who knew what he was going to do when he got here. He nodded quietly, looking at the board anxiously and hoping she'd be okay, "Yeah, okay."

"Atta' boy," Matt elbowed him more gently.

* * *

Izzy, Ken, Yolei went back to the Izumi apartment to try and salvage his computer and the flash drive in any way they could. Their partners mostly watched from a distance, eating snacks and wondering just what exactly they were doing as they dismantled the laptop. When they began opening the case to diagnose the problem, Izzy found that the entire mother board fried beyond repair - with parts of the silicone burnt black. Yolei examined the parts, "It's like someone overheated it."

"It could've been an overcharge," Izzy speculated, removing the motherboard from the laptop and examining the remaining parts.

"Must've been the flash drive," Ken postulated, "It either inserted a virus that overcharged the computer from the battery, or the flash drive itself built up enough charge and shot it all back into the motherboard."

"But which happened is the scary part. And I'm not inserting that flash drive into anything else until we know which it is," Izzy frowned. Yolei smiled and took the flash drive from his hand, "Only one way to find out. Sorry about this, Izzy."

With a hard swing, she smashed it against the desk and managed to break the plastic casing off the device to reveal its internal components. They expected to see the flash storage and the USB mounting drive. No one expected to see the weird cabling and circuit board behind it. Izzy blinked, "Well that's new."

"It looks like it was the latter," Ken picked up the pieces and examined it carefully, turning it over in his hand, "See that? It's a battery. It probably used the connector to charge the battery while you were accessing the files. Then, once it built enough charge, it sent out that message before frying your laptop."

"This really does feel like Myotismon all over again," Izzy frowned, going back to inspecting his laptop, "One step ahead of us. Then again, Tamer seemed like he was one step ahead of everyone so who knows what he's planning. It looks like the hard drive wasn't damaged so I should be able to salvage that. It's a good thing because that database will come in handy now more than ever. I'm not sure I'd trust the battery though. I wonder if the LCD is still working? Oh, no, never mind. The ribbon got fried with the rest of the computer. I was hoping I could salvage more from my computer than this."

"Sorry Izzy," Yolei frowned. All of their D-Terminals beeped at the same time and Ken checked, "It's from Davis."

"What's it say?" Wormmon asked, trying to peer from the bed. Ken snickered, "I guess he doesn't like his new found celebrity status. People won't leave him alone and they've been kicked out of a couple of apartments already trying to find this girl. Maybe he'll rethink his goal of becoming famous after all this. Or he'll let it go to his head."

"Bummer. That must really suck for him, " Yolei tried to sound sympathetic but had the biggest grin on her face. In truth, she was hoping this would knock Davis' cocky attitude down a notch or two.

"Maybe we should help them out?" Hawkmon asked from the bed only to be waved off by Yolei, "Nah. Davis is a big boy. He can take care of a few news reporters."

Hawkmon frowned from the bed, unsure if Yolei had thought that through, "Is that such a good idea, though? His mouth runs faster than his brain sometimes. He might say something unnecessary. Or do something stupid."

"I think it'll be fine," Yolei nodded with certainty, "Now, let's see about fixing that computer."

* * *

Davis and Veemon tried to make their way down the street but were hounded by reporters at every turn. Everyone split up as soon as they got back into Tokyo, with the rest of the digidestined search Ota to try and find Noriko Kawada. Unfortunately for Davis and Veemon, that meant walking straight into a bunch of reporters who now knew about digimon. And they weren't leaving him alone no matter how hard he tried to ignore them. With every step he took, another one held out a microphone to ask a question, "How long have you been involved with these monsters?"

"What is the nature of your relationship with these things?"

"Were you involved with the Odaiba Incident several years ago?"

"Do you have any comment on the recent military mobilization in the Tokyo Bay Area in response to these monsters?"

"Are they here as heroes or as monsters?"

"Do you feel pressured by what's going on in the world? Have politics affected your motivations?"

"Do you have any comments on the Prime Minister's press conference earlier today?"

"This is ridiculous," Davis mumbled quietly, unaware that he'd accidentally prompted them to ask more questions, "Are you talking about the events on Christmas Eve?"

"What exactly is ridiculous?"

"What do these creatures want?"

"Was that a comment on our current sociopolitical environment."

"You all talk like Izzy," Davis added, realizing a second too late that he shouldn't have said that out loud.

"Who is Izzy?"

"Is he another monster child like yourself?"

"Davish! Theshe people won't leave ush alone," Veemon grumbled, prompting more questions, "Can they all talk?"

"Are they all this friendly and cute?"

"Do you work together to fight monsters or-"

"Okay, screw it. It's not like we can keep a low profile anyway. Let's get out of here Veemon! DigiArmor Energize!" Davis raised his digivice above his head as Veemon jumped up, "Veemon! Armor Digivolve to! Raidramon, the Storm of Friendship!"

The reporters gasped and awed, stepping away as his previously adorable partner grew in size to the size of a horse. Cameramen were scrambling to get Raidramon in shot just as Davis clammored onto his partner's back, "Get us outta here!"

"Cross town express! Next stop: anywhere but here!" Raidramon announced before galloping down the street and away from the prying reporters. Some raced into their vans to try and follow them while others resorted to chasing after on foot. They galloped as far away as they could from the reporters, then straight into a playground where Raidramon regressed back to Veemon so they could hide inside a small plastic house for younger kids.

They waited a moment longer to make sure they weren't followed before breathing a sigh of relief that they'd escaped. Unfortunately for them, this also meant that finding Noriko would take a lot longer since there was no way they were going to not run into those reporters again. Veemon asked, "Sho what do we do now, Davish?"

"We lie low for a while and then get back to looking," Davis frowned, "Geez, why wouldn't those people just leave us alone? We got stuff to do!"

As Davis was about to rest himself on a ground, he heard foot steps coming their way and put a hand over Veemon's mouth. Then the steps stopped, and Davis peered his head out to see a short haired girl in a thick winter coat and skirt pouting at him, "What do you think you're doing, moron?"

"Nothing," he answered sheepishly, trying to keep Veemon hidden. The girl's eyes narrowed as she circled around to see Veemon just poking his head out, "I know you've got your partner in there. He can come out. It's not like I'm going to call the police or anything on him."

Veemon pushed his mouth out of Davis's hand, "Wait, you're not one of thoshe kidsh that Oikawa kidnapped, are you?"

"No shit, genius," the girl stuck her tongue out at him, "What was your first guess?"

"Your attitude definitely helps," Davis commented wryly, "I'm Davis, and this is Veemon."

"Noriko," she answered grimly. Davis jumped in surprise, amazed by the turn of events and his luck, "Wow, really!? No way! You're the one we've been looking for. Wait, what are you doing here?"

Noriko rolled her eyes and shook her head, placing a hand to her forehead, "I should be asking you that. You made a scene outside my apartment and ran here. It was kinda hard to ignore you. Not to mention you were all over the news. It's weird though. I thought digimon affected electronics."

"They do?" Davis looked at his partner for confirmation. When Veemon shrugged in silent confusion, Davis pointed out, "He never messed with Izzy's computer. Or any of the ones from school. Wait, forget that. Are you okay? Are the rest of the kids okay?"

"Why would I tell you anything? So you can stop us?" the girl asked. Davis folded his arms, "Stop you from what? We just wanted to make sure you were all okay after what Oikawa did. And figure out what exactly that was."

The girl closed her eyes, clearly unimpressed by what she had seen from them and answered, "I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. It's not like there's anything they could do about it if you knew what it was."

"You're taking the way Ken used to," Davis noted in bewilderment, walking up to the girl and watching her step back anxiously, "You didn't get super smug and smart too, did you? Let me see."

Davis took his leg back to wind up a soccer kick, putting all his strength into it. She stepped aside and used the moment to kick his other leg out from under him. Davis yelped in the air and landed flat on his back, "OW! Yep, you even fight the way he would. Ow. Wait. Is that what Oikawa did? Did he make you guys the way Ken used to be?"

"No. He made us better than that Ichijouji kid. He even made sure that we would be able to do better than he ever could," Noriko answered, "He had one job: Bring order to the Digital World. Don't let any of this happen again! And he failed."

"What are you talking about!? Oikawa is the one who caused all this to happen in the first place," Davis grumbled, pushing himself back off the ground. Veemon nodded in agreement and added, "That'sh right! We shpent all Chrishtmash trying to fix all of it! We had to go around the world and shend all the digimon back to the Digital World! It didn't help that all the humansh kept shooting at ush!"

The girl closed her eyes and sighed, "You really are stupid. That wasn't Oikawa. That was Dragomon and Daemon. They invaded the Real World. They took advantage of an already weak boundary to cross worlds, damaging it further. The Real and Digital World bled into each other. We'd better hope that it was only those worlds affected. Who knows what else would've happened if it had been anything else."

"You think Oikawa didn't have anything to do with it?" Davis snapped back angrily, and Noriko smiled slyly, "I don't think, I know."

Davis clicked his tongue angrily "So you're trying to fix a mess you helped make? Talk about job security."

"I'm surprised you know what that means," Noriko scoffed with a smile on her face, pocketing her hands, "Any way, the real reason I'm here is to warn you. Leave me alone or I'll call the cops. And stay out of our way before you find yourself in for more than you're ready for."

She turned to leave, waking her way back out of the park and down the street. Veemon's lower lip stick out, "Are we going to follow her?"

"Oh yeah," Davis nodded, retrieving his D-Terminal from his pocket, "I'm just going to let the others know we found her."

* * *

Far away in the Digital World, BlackWarGreymon followed the little Agumon out into the wilderness - still tired and beaten from their battle in the Real World. He knew this place - the barren empty field, the thick fog, the lonely castle in the distance. He'd never been here before, had no memory of it. Yet the familiarity wasn't lost on him. And he had no idea why. All around he could here whispers and screams of the fallen, chilling him to the bone and freezing his blood, "Why did we come here? This is not where I met Azulongmon before."

"But it is where you'll meet Azulongmon now. Tamer came here and said he'd talk to Azulongmon first," Agumon explained with a big toothy smile, "That way, you guys don't start fighting the moment you look at each other."

"Hmph," BlackWarGreymon frowned, annoyed but understanding why he wasn't trusted. He'd behaved like a rampaging monster for a long time. And he knew that he would fly off the handle again at some point. It was just a matter of time. As they entered through the castle's main entrance, into a large courtyard flanked on all sides by statues of large demonic creatures glaring down at them. In the center of the court yard stood the Tamer, that frustrating boy with the stupid hair staring up into the sky blankly. When he saw them enter, he cocked a half smile, "It's about time you showed up, Agumon. I'm not getting any younger."

"Why are you complaining? I thought you were ready," Agumon joked back, albeit nervously. This exchange was odd - different from before but BlackWarGreymon said nothing. He didn't care for their absurdity and wasn't about to indulge in any of whatever this was. Tamer shifted his gaze to BlackWarGreymon, "Okay, I'll get Azulongmon and we can get started."

"I thought you were talking to him?" BlackWarGreymon pointed out with a grunt. Tamer ignored that remark and held out the old digivice in his hand to create another tear in the world in front of them. The most brilliant display of lights shone through the large hole. And just beyond it was Azulongmon, "Hey Azulongmon! Can you hear us?"

"Yes," Azulongmon answered, "I can hear you. It's a good thing too, because I'd hate to have to use my strength just trying to exist around BlackWarGreymon. No offense of course - but the control spires are still suppressing me and you're a walking mass of a hundred of them."

BlackWarGreymon grumbled, "So...what is it we're here to talk about?"

"What else?" Agumon states, "You're purpose. You're reason for being."

"I thought you said I had to figure that out for myself," BlackWarGreymon grumbled, folding his arms and shooting them all judging stares. Tamer nodded quietly, "Normally yeah."

"The Digimon Tamer is in a unique position compared to the rest of us," Azulongmon explained, "You may be made of control spires but you're still a digimon - a living, breathing being. And Tamer…you must sense it. The odd air about him. It's more than his personality. He is what we call a Digital Agent. Some call them Ancients, others call them the Guardian of Destiny, and so on. The point is, they safe guarded all of reality and kept the machinations of destiny on track."

"You're using a lot of words I don't care about in a way that makes me want to destroy you. Get to the point," BlackWarGreymon roared. Agumon sighed, "Yeah, they can both be like that. Basically, Tamer knows your destiny."

"Every good day, every bad," Tamer answered, "Every choice you can make, choices you will make, choices you must not make. What you want for breakfast, what you'll wear to bed. It's all locked up here."

He tapped the side of his head as he spoke, "I can tell you if you'd like. You could know everything - the purpose of your life. You'd no longer wonder what it is you're here to do."

"Why didn't you just tell me that before?" BlackWarGreymon demanded, "Why did you send me to the Real World?"

Tamer ran a hand through his hair and smiled, "You wanted to meet your creator - I just helped you along. I hope you got what you were looking for. Mind you, I know he's kind of a let down. Hair's all greasy, skin is pale as a corpse and he's always staring. You'd almost think he was dead."

BlackWarGreymon paused to examine this crazy haired boy in front of him and grunted, "So you're a liar. At the very least, you're prone to lying. How do I know you won't just lie to me when I ask what my destiny is?"

Tamer opened his mouth to answer, then froze. He threw a coughing fit until he was gagging and gasping for breath then paused. Agumon patted his back to help with his coughing while Tamer added, "Sorry about that. Old age is catching up to me."

"You don't look old," BlackWarGreymon observes, amusing the boy. He forced a grin, "I'm older than you'd believe. One hundred five thousand, one hundred thirty-two years old if you want to know."

"You're right, I don't believe it," BlackWarGreymon rolled his eyes at them. Azulongmon reasoned, "BlackWarGreymon, these two have been instrumental to the survival of all reality for a long time. They would have no reason to mislead you."

BlackWarGreymon turned on Azulongmon, "I thought I was coming to talk to you."

"And I'm telling you to listen to them," Azulongmon answered. He looked at the boy, still standing there with that stupid grin on his face and smiling as if nothing was wrong, "Fine."

Tamer smiled cheekily and began to explain, "So, your destiny is-"

BlackWarGreymon cut him off, "No. I don't care about that. I want to know why. If what Azulongmon says is true, then that means you had a hand in all of this. Either you caused it, or knew it would happen and did nothing about it. Why is that? Is that your purpose or is there some higher power I don't understand?"

Tamer's smile disappeared, replaced by a haunted look on his face as he hesitated and the facade of cheeriness vanished, "There were ones like you. A long time ago."

"I want to know," BlackWarGreymon insisted. Tamer closed his eyes, deep in contemplation and murmuring to himself before answering, "The truth is that reality is a fickle thing. Destiny, what you're supposed to do - keeps everything intact. The wrong choice at the wrong place creates a ripple - opens up the possibility for other choices to be made. And the results could be disastrous. Some things don't matter like what you eat for breakfast, when you take a shower, and so on. Other things, like missing that first kiss, saving a life that you shouldn't, or being somewhere you're not supposed to. The results from that cause the first ripple. And bursts out rapidly. Agumon and I have spent our lives running damage control on all that. There used to be more of us. Now it's just me and my buddy Agumon."

This answer was hardly satisfying, "And how much of my life has been according to this grand design?"

"A good chunk of it actually - you weren't supposed to blow up Infinity Mountain and I think you were supposed to get more Destiny Stones. But the broad strokes were there. That's what matters," Tamer answered sheepishly, "You fought the digidestined, asked Agumon questions, ignored Arukenimon and Mummymon, went after the Destiny Stones to fight Azulongmon, and then began to question your entire existence."

"And what would've happened if you weren't there?" BlackWarGreymon asked, beginning to walk around the Tamer angrily and wanting more answers, "Would any of that happened?"

"Agumon was only there for the beginning and I was only there to get you to Oikawa," Tamer answered with a half smile, "So, if anything, you were always going to do it one way or another. We just helped it along."

"Then why get involved at all?" BlackWarGreymon growled angrily, "Why didn't you just sit back and let it all play out?"

Tamer folded his arms, "There's a reason it's only me and Agumon now. It's a long story, involves a war and whole worlds getting blown out of existence, an army led by a clown, a puppet, a snake, and a robot. And there was more. They were like you - dissatisfied with their lot and they wanted to seize control for themselves. And…this is where we're at now. We're stuck with the clean up - making sure what's left can survive. Which brings us to you. You want to know your purpose?"

BlackWarGreymon wasn't sure he believed anything the boy had been telling, but saw an opportunity there he didn't think he could have. He would know his purpose. He could know why he existed. It was so close - it was within his grasp. But would it be worth it coming from this boy? Could he trust him to be honest? No it wouldn't. And he wasn't sure that he would want his life to be controlled by some predetermined role. That would make him a slave, wouldn't it? He'd become no better than if he'd simply followed Arukenimon's orders - and that was the reason why he defied her in the first place. He didn't want to be told what to do.

"No, I don't," he finally answered, "I think...I think I'll determine that for myself."

"Good on you," Tamer smiled with a nod. Without another word, BlackWarGreymon ascended skyward. He had no intention of staying to talk to any of them any longer. As he ascended, he heard Agumon shout out to him, "Wait! Where are you going?'

"To find something to do," BlackWarGreymon answered quietly. He heard Agumon shout something at him but didn't stay to listen. He felt something he hadn't felt before and wasn't sure what it was. A desire, a craving in the pit of his gut. He wasn't sure, but this must've been hunger.

* * *

Yolei and Ken tinkered with the flash drive while Izzy worked to salvage as much of his computer as he could. Their digimon crowded around Izzy as they watched with curious fascination as he took his machine apart and replaced bits and pieces. Ken walked Yolei through each step of disconnecting the battery from the drive but Yolei frowned, "I know how to disconnect a battery Ken! I was in my school's computer club."

"I'm just trying to help," Ken muttered sheepishly and Yolei stopped what she was doing, "You don't think I can't do this because I'm a girl, do you?"

"No, no! Of course not," Ken shook his head, throwing up his hands defensively, "I mean, yes, you're a girl but I'm sure you're totally capable of doing this and-"

He stopped when he heard Wormmon and Hawkmon snickering at him from the bed. Ken's frown grew larger, "What're you laughing at?"

"Just enjoying how flustered you get when you have to talk to Yolei," Wormmon said, "It's nice to see you getting along with her."

"It's better than when Izzy stammered in front of Mimi when he said he thought she was cute to his face without thinking," Tentomon added, making the computer nearly drop the motherboard he was working on, "TENTOMON!"

"What? It's true! Remember the temple years ago, when Sukamon asked for a kiss from the cute one and you said he must mean Mimi," Tentomon added, to Izzy's growing frustration. It didn't help that he added, "At least that's what we thought until those Numemon on that boat in the desert. They said Izzy was the cute one. So maybe they meant him all along."

Izzy groaned and threw his hands up in the air, "COME ON! WHY'D YOU BRING THAT UP?"

Their digimon were now laughing at their expense. Tentomon turned to Hawkmon, "And Yolei's probably done something just as embarrassing."

Hawkmon opened his mouth but made no noise when he realized Yolei's face flushed as red as a tomato. The bird digimon closed his mouth as he had no intention of finding out if the red was embarrassment or anger. Instead he shook his head fearfully, and swallowed a growing lump on his throat. It was just as well as Izzy threw the dead motherboard at Tentomon to stop him from snickering. The poor bug fell on his back and flailed for a second, "Oh don't be shy Izzy. Everyone already knows. We're just waiting for you to ask her out already!"

"I...might've," Izzy turned his back towards them and returned to fixing his laptop. Yolei and Ken's mouths fell open in disbelief, "Wait you did? When!"

"Wait, was that why you wanted to talk to Mimi alone back in America?" Tentomon asked quickly, turning Yolei's attention back on Izzy, "Wait, did something happen and did we all miss it? Izzy! What happened!? Hang on, I'm going to message the others!"

"Can we please focus on fixing my computer and that flash drive? We need to make sure the kids are okay and find out what Oikawa did to them," Izzy sighed as he went back to restoring his computer. This didn't mean anything to Yolei who continued to press the matter, "Come on! Tell us Izzy! What did she say? Are you two like this?"

She put her hands together to make a heart shape and made smooching noises too.

"I am not talking about this," Izzy spat out, trying to ignore her as he worked on his computer. Yolei groaned, "Oh come on. You know everyone already knows you like her. Or maybe she likes you. You're killing me!"

"I'm about to kill someone," Izzy grumbled under his breath, "Look, can we please just focus on fixing the computer and that flash drive?"

"Fixed it," Ken answered, holding up the flash drive as it had been put back together. He placed it on the desk next to Izzy so that he could use it later and then smirked, "So...what is going on there?"

"How about we talk about literally anything else. Like what's going on with you two," Izzy retorted quickly, finally putting down all his tools to stop and look at the two digidestined. This time it was their turn to be evasive, Ken falling deathly quiet while Yolei threw up her hands, "Wait, what?"

"You two have been awfully close. I'm just saying," Izzy pointed out with a semi smug grin, aware that he'd finally turned the tables on them, "I mean, you went to go check up on Ken after that thing with Kimeramon when he got really withdrawn. Then you and Davis were probably the only ones vouching for him after he came to help us. Let's not forget when he pulled you out of harm's way and asked for your help when that spire digimon attacked the dam! And then there was the time in the computer lab when you went after him. Not to mention the fact that he went out of his way to go to Kyoto to save you when you were in trouble! So…what's going on?"

"Okay, now I don't want to talk about this," Ken retorted quickly while Yolei went red in the face. Wormmon frowned, "Is this how all humans interact when it comes to boys and girls?"

"I swear, you all are like Davis and Kari," Hawkmon said quietly, going back to eating his candy when Yolei shot him a deathly glare. Izzy sighed and finished putting in spare parts to his computer, "Okay, so I replaced the battery, motherboard, and display. I replaced some of the other parts too - he speakers, the graphics card, the sound card. Hopefully that should be enough. Here goes nothing."

He pressed the power button and crossed his fingers hopefully, waiting as he heard the hard drive start spinning. Then the start up noise played. The screen was black for a few seconds and he was left to worry that it wouldn't come to life. Either he didn't connect it right or something else had been damaged and he didn't see it. Then the screen lit up - and he saw the software logo appear. All was working so far. Once the log in screen appeared, he breathed a sigh of relief and sat back, "We're looking good. Now let's see if this doesn't fry my computer again."

He logged in and connected the flash drive. It needed a moment to load, but he opened the file and waited to see how long until his laptop was fried again. When nothing happened after a minute, he proceeded. Everything was as neatly labeled and organized as it had been the first time - an address book, chat logs, picture files, and more. He clicked his tongue excitedly, "Alright! We're in business! Now let's get started and see what Oikawa didn't want us to see."


	48. BlackWarGreymon's Purpose

It took Izzy, Ken, and Yolei all of the afternoon to comb through all the data on Oikawa's flash drive and it didn't take long to piece the picture together. It seemed he would enter a forum, image board, or IRC using a set of random usernames to hide his identity. From there, he would engage with children all over the internet. They would've assumed he was a closet child molester if the one thing they all had in common was their express interest in the Digital World. And, to Izzy's utter mortification, he recognized a few of these chat logs and his own username. He had no idea how long he'd been interacting with this guy and was terrified to think that he hadn't thought there was anything wrong with it. Oikawa never engaged in talk about getting to the Digital World with these kids in a way that showed a public record. He always went to each chat to try and gauge the interest of the kids there, then send out private links to his own password protected chat server to discuss anything related to the Digital World.

But that was far from the worst part of it. The worst part was the content of Oikawa's discussion with the many kids he spoke with - he asked them how many lost friends and family during Myotismon's attack several years ago. Then he would exploit it - acting sympathetic towards their loss before suggesting that more should've been done to stop it and that the digidestined were at fault for not doing more. He suggested that maybe they could do better, but first they'd need to become digidestined and get to the Digital World on their own terms.

Then, he would talk about how the Digital World was a chaotic, terrifying mess. Izzy had nothing to say to that, as he recalled their first time there and remembered telephones connected to nothing, streetcars that went nowhere, and invisible jungles hidden inside deserts. Oikawa would tell the kids that it could be made better, that it should be made better, and that they would be the ones to do it.

It was all too reminiscent of when Ken was the Digimon Emperor, only it seemed like Oikawa had been cultivating these kids for months so that he could slowly groom them into an army of little Emperors. That was the last thing they needed - an army of Digimon Emperors running loose in the Digital World. But the end game remained a mystery - what was he going to accomplish by unleashing that many digimon emperors in the Digital World? It wouldn't be any different than just having one - especially with all the Digidestined through out the world ready to hop in and help out when they were needed. What difference was this many more going to make?

"I don't get it, Izzy," Tentomon grumbled from the bed in a daze after listening to all the daya, "If Oikawa really wanted to take over the Digital World, why did he wait until now? Why didn't he just get these kids sooner? And what about Myotismon?"

"I don't know Tentomon. We're still not seeing the whole picture yet. But we're getting closer. A million points of light," Izzy answered, reclining in his chair and tried to think about the cryptic message Wizardmon had given them. It was obvious that was meant to be about the new digidestined and their digivices. And obviously that would be the key to defeating Myotismon. Now if only they could figure out how that would coming into play.

Ken scrolled through the chats, embittered at how easily Oikawa was able to convince the other children that they could be like he was, "We have to stop him. For the sake of those kids."

"We will, Ken," Wormmon assured his partner quietly, "We'll stop them."

"Maybe if we talked to these kids, we can get it through their heads that this isn't going to work out the way they think it will," Ken reasoned, realizing that he'd been clenching his fist so tight that his knuckles were turning white. Izzy nodded in agreement, "It's worth a shot. We should all go talk to these kids."

"No!" Ken blurted out, catching everyone off guard, "That might have the opposite effect. I'll talk to them. One at a time."

"Ken, are you sure about that?" Yolei asked nervously. Ken nodded, determined to save those kids from making his mistakes, "Yeah. No one would get them better than I would. They've practically been turned into smaller versions of me."

Yolei nodded in agreement and clasped her hands together, "Fine, but I'm coming with you. I'm not letting you deal with this on your own."

"Then I'm coming with you too!" Wormmon said hastily, perhaps to encourage his partner although it seemed like he was just jealous of Yolei going with him. Hawkmon sighed, "I suppose it only makes sense that I come too. So, where do we start?"

* * *

Davis and Veemon followed just a few paces just behind Noriko, to the girl's increasing frustration, "Stop following me."

Davis stuck out his tongue, "Tough. You're our only way of finding out what Oikawa is really up to."

Noriko growled at his insistence and spat back, "I already told you what he was up to. Are you really that stupid? Or do you only hear what you want to hear, you stubborn jerk?"

Davis seemed to miss the insult, "If I gave up anywhere as easily as you wanted me to, I probably wouldn't have gotten that far. What, do you want me to do? Get on my knees and beg like trash or something?"

Veemon sighed, "I don't think making fun of her ish going to get ush anywhere, Davish."

"No, it's not," Noriko added with a grim smile, "So why not just give up already?"

Davis paused, unnerved by the smile she just shot their way. She was planning something, he just didn't know what yet. Still, he couldn't back down, "Not gonna happen. So why not just tell us what he's really after? Besides, I already did all this when Ken was Emperor. There's nothing new you could possibly throw at me."

"Are you sure about that?" Noriko said more excitedly than she should've. Davis stood his ground on this matter, trying his best not hesitate, "Sure am."

Noriko stopped at a street corner, and turned to fave Davis with the grimmest frown on her face, "Don't forget, you made me do this."

Then she slapped Davis as hard as he could in the face while screaming at the top of her lungs. It took Davis a second to register why she had slapped him, noticing that there was a crowded street just around the corner. And the reporters that he and Veemon had run away from earlier. Before Davis could curse his luck, Noriko started screaming, "STOP FOLLOWING ME YOU CREEP! I SAID I DON'T WANT TO GO ON A DATE WITH YOU! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Okay, we're going," Davis said, grabbing Veemon and turning to run away as fast as he could before any one had a chance to see his face. He'd grossly underestimated the difference between Ken and Noriko. Noriko had an advantage Ken never could - and Davis had just walked straight into it. As he ran, he took out his D-Terminal to message the others, "Found Noriko. Might've screwed up. Running now."

He could feel the others' reactions with every beep he heard from the D-Terminal. But he didn't dare look at them until he was safe in cover and far away from all this.

* * *

Later that evening, the digidestined regrouped with each other at Ken's place to go over the details of Oikawa's computer and address what happened to Davis. Davis didn't want to talk about what happened with a primo and instead tried to veer the subject onto TK and Matt's mom. Both looked like they'd hardly slept since their mom's hospitalization and updated them on her condition. She was stable and awake but their dad hadn't taken the news well and was staying at her side overnight. Unfortunately, she didn't like being cooped up in a hospital and was trying to get out right away so she could find Oikawa. Thankfully, her dad was refusing to let her leave until they had a long talk about that gun she had.

Izzy happily announced that he'd been able to restore his laptop, and that they were once again able to regain access to the files from Oikawa's hut - including addresses on the kids and their names. There was just one problem with that - Noriko. And unfortunately for them, the story about what happened was already making rounds on the nightly news which Ken's father watched as he relaxed.

"-while the veracity of the girl's statement has yet to be determined, it seems that at least one of the children caught on the footage might indeed be a delinquent. This raises many more concerns about the identity of these children and if they can be trusted. We now turn to our panel to discuss-"

Davis groaned out in disbelief, "Oh man, now I know how TK felt when he first came to our school! I swear, that's not what happened!"

"We believe you Davis," Kari promised. Cody nodded in agreement, "Yeah. You're too goofy to do anything like that."

"Thanks, I think?" Davis raised an eyebrow at Cody at the half assurance. Armadillomon looked at the television and frowned, "So what're we goin' ta do about those kids? Whatever it is he did is makin' 'em all evil."

"They're not evil," Ken countered quickly, "It's whatever Oikawa took out of me and put into them. We don't know how to remove it but we do know that we can mitigate the effects. I was planning on talking to them one at a time. If I can, I'll try to convince them to give up whatever stupid thing they're planning. And if that doesn't work, we'll just have to keep an eye on them until Oikawa makes whatever move he's planning. Noriko didn't happen to say anything to you, did she?"

Davis frowned, "Something about bringing order to the Digital World and how they'd do it better than you ever could. It was like deja vu listening to her all over again."

Sora crossed her arms anxiously, looking to Izzy, Ken, and Yolei, "So besides the addresses, names, and all those chat logs, did you find anything else on that flash drive?"

Izzy shook his head solemnly, "No. Whatever Oikawa was actually planning, it's likely that he didn't want us to find out. Even worse, it's possible that he intentionally planted this to keep us guessing. Y'know, control what we can and can't see."

"Any...news from Tamer?" Gatomon asked sheepishly. Izzy shook his head, "Not since that video file that got emailed to us."

"Well that's just brilliant," Gatomon rolled her eyes, "I guess we just stick to Ken's plan then."

* * *

The following day, Ken went to go meet with Noriko personally. Wormmon, Yolei, and Hawkmon came along as well but were watching from a park across the street. It was an outdoor apartment complex which meant everyone's front door led out onto an open air hallway. He looked over his shoulder to see Yolei, Wormmon, and Hawkmon waving up at him from the park below and waved back before knocking on the door.

At the first knock, the door swung open to reveal Noriko standing there with a scowl in her face, "What do you want?"

"To talk," Ken answered seriously, trying to keep a straight face despite the overwhelming dreadful feeling he got from her. She seemed calm, almost relaxed, but the air around her made his stomach turn and his skin crawl. Before she could open her mouth to answer, her mother appeared at the door while wiping her hands on her apron, "Who is it Noriko?"

"Hello, my name's Ken Ichijouji," Ken bowed quickly, trying to stop Noriko before she could even think of kicking him out the door. Noriko's mom lit up right away at the sound of his name, "Oh, you're that boy genius who's on the news every once in a while. What are you doing here!?"

"I was just hoping I could talk to your daughter," Ken answered sheepishly, "If that's alright with you."

Her mom slid a devious look at her daughter, a small twinkle appearing in the corner of her eye that could only mean she completely misread the situation. She giggled and pulled Ken inside, "Of course! Come in! Come in! You two probably want to talk alone! You can use Noriko's room!"

"MOM! WAIT!" Noriko protested but it was already too late. Her mom pushed both kids along into Noriko's room. It was typical of a girl's room - stuffed animals occupied every shelf and corner, except where her bed and desk stood. Atop the desk was an older computer, the kind that she must've used to contact Oikawa in the first place. Noriko tried to stop her but her mom wasn't having any of it, "Oh, it's alright dear. You two can talk and spend as much time together as you like! Have fun! But not too much!"

Then she slid the door shut behind her. Noriko groaned and fell back onto her bed, "Great, now I'm stuck with you."

"That just works out for me. We really need to talk," Ken answered, going to her desk to sit at her chair, "May I?"

"You're going to anyway," she grumbled. Ken turned the chair around to face her, "Please listen to me Noriko."

"Oh, do I have a choice? Then I choose no," she asked snidely. Ken had the sneaking suspicion that this wasn't going to be easy. Still, he had to try, "I know what you're going through-"

"Oh do you now?"

"-and you need to understand it's not normal-"

"Coming from the boy who was a genius."

"-which is why you need to tell us exactly what Oikawa is planning so we can stop him-"

"Like you could."

"-and keep this situation from getting any worse.

"Too late."

Ken paused as he realized she was just going to keep interrupting with her snide comments at every turn. He waited a moment to see if she was done then asked, "You do understand that we're trying to help right?"

"And you understand that I don't care."

"Will you please just let me help you!?" Ken snapped at her. The girl continued to lay on her bed but now she brought her arms together over her head, "You have until I fall asleep to make your point."

Ken closed his eyes. He knew it would be difficult to reach out to her, but he didn't think it would be this difficult. She was actively resisting him at every turn. He couldn't be too angry though. He was certain he was the same way when he was the Emperor - arrogant and dismissive. He had to keep trying, "Believe me, I know what's happening to you better than anyone. Whatever you're planning won't work. It's just the way things are. I know how Oikawa lured you guys in. He promised that you could do it better, that you could change how things were. He probably didn't mention the Ancients or their technology - or why he's been leading you on. The thing is, the harder you try to change what happened, the more things fight back to stay the way they are."

"What are you babbling about?" Noriko shot up in her bed angrily, seemingly interested in what he had to say for the first time in ever, "And try to not use words that sound big but really come off as pretentious and stupid."

Ken sighed, realizing that he wouldn't be able to appeal to her by explaining her situation. So he tried a different approach, "My brother died. It was years ago during the last digimon invasion. He died trying to save my life. And when I found out I could change it, you better believe I tried. I worked so hard for so long to undo it - to bring him back. But the moment I had him back, he couldn't recognize me. He said I was nothing like the brother he remembered. And then...I lost him again. He died and it was my fault. After everything I did, all I managed to accomplish was getting my brother killed again. Whatever it is you're trying to change, to make right…fate has a habit of making sure that it doesn't."

Her eyes narrowed when he was done and she rolled them in disbelief, "Cool story. You kinda sounded like the bad guy for a second. Are you going to leave now?"

"I'm trying to spare you," Ken argued, "To keep you from becoming like me."

"Oh, I see how this is. You don't actually care about any of us," she mused with a devilish grin, "You just don't want us to show you up."

"That's not it at all. If you're not careful, you'll end up making my mistake."

"We won't make your mistake!" she spat back, "We're not like you! We're better than you. Now get out of my room."

Ken took a deep breath, disappointed that he wasn't able to reach her. He stood up from the chair and bowed, "Thanks for your time. Please, at least think about what I said."

"Whatever. You know where the door is," Noriko stuck her tongue out at him and waved him off to the door, "Now get out has been. And don't come back."

As Ken departed her room, he felt the door slam shut behind him and he jumped in surprise. Then his surprise turned to embarrassment when he saw Noriko's mom holding a tray with a pitcher of tea and two glasses. She frowned, "Oh my, don't tell me you're leaving already. I just made some tea for you."

"I'm sorry to have bothered you," Ken bowed to her apologetically, "I just wanted to speak with your daughter for a little bit. I'll be going now."

He squeezed past her and made for the front door, stopping only when her mother asked, "Noriko, is everything all right with her?"

Ken looked back at Noriko's mom and was stunned by the expression on her face. The face of a mother he was worried for her child and only wanted to see them happy again. It didn't help that she went on, "She's been, oh what's a good word? Withdrawn. She hardly leaves her room, let alone the apartment, and seems moody lately. At first, I thought it was hormones…you know. But then she went and did her winter assignments for school. She hates homework. She puts them all off until the last second but she did it all in one day! Then she stopped talking to her friends. She hasn't returned their calls or gone over to visit them."

Ken recognized that behavior too - the withdrawal from social life, the desire to find increasingly difficult challenges to overcome, the sudden interest in things that seemed annoying at first. Whatever they had taken out of him was affecting these children now. He offered the mother a small smile, "I think she'll be okay. She just needs a little time."

"Tell me something, Ken, if you don't mind my asking," Noriko's mom began, only to pause with uncertainty. Ken had an idea where she was going, but waited to hear her ask it, "Are...are you like the...okay, those children who were on the news - the ones who were seen with those monsters. The monster children. You aren't really one of those monster children…are you?"

He tried to maintain his composure as he contemplated his answer. What should he say? What could he say that wouldn't upset her? More importantly, could he trust her to know? He couldn't. She was probably just an innocent bystander in all of this but that didn't mean he could trust her with sensitive information like that. Not when he couldn't be sure she wasn't involved in this. Did it matter though? He'd already been identified on the news. They knew who he was. He nodded, "Yes, I am."

Noriko's mom looked at him sheepishly, then nodded, "I see. You will help Noriko…won't you?"

Ken looked at the mother in surprise, then nodded back. A look of relief came over her and she smiled. He smiled back at her and departed without another word, closing the door behind him and hurrying to meet with Yolei, Wormmon, and Hawkmon. They swarmed him as soon as they saw him and bombarded him with questions. Yolei seemed hopeful, "What happened? Were you able to convince her?"

Wormmon's tone was more worried, "She didn't go too rough on you did she?"

"Did you figure out more about their plan?" Hawkmon asked. Ken shook his head, "Nothing we didn't already know. And no, I wasn't able to convince her. That's one down. How many more to go?"

"Eleven," Yolei answered, pulling up the list of names and addresses they had, "This is going to be a long day."

And a long day it was. They went to every child's home to try and talk them out of whatever plan they were going along with. None of them said more than what they already knew - they were going to take over the Digital World and succeed where Ken failed. None of them knew a thing about Myotismon or cared about his return. And that left the digidestined nervous. As a result, they did the only thing they could - they agreed to each tail one of the kids until they figured out what they were after.

That was easier said than done though - their sudden rise in fame made it impossible for them to move around the city as discretely as they wanted. Every time they found one of the kids out in public, a reporter or other journalist showed up to give them away. Because of this, they met with each other at Izzy's place on the night before New Year's Eve to try and come up with a new plan.

Davis groaned the turn of events loudly, "Why can't these people just leave us alone? Can't they see that we're trying to save the world!"

Ken placed a hand on his shoulder and reasoned, "It's not that simple, Davis. It's like what Oikawa said - we've been noticed. And now the whole world is watching. People want answers, and they're not all going to like the answers we have to give."

"Like in France," Kari frowned quietly, "The soldiers shot at kids!"

"Or like in China and India - one misunderstanding led to another and two armies nearly shot at each other," Cody recounted quietly.

Joe nodded and added, "Exactly, who knows what our own government is thinking. After what happened in China, India, in France…it got me thinking. It's not like we went around rounding up all of Myotismon's digimon after last time. I never really thought about it, but now that I have, what happened to the rest of his army of digimon?"

Everyone froze as they all seemed to come to the same conclusion in their minds - scared not just of Myotismon but of their own people. Sora looked up at the ceiling worriedly, "You're right. I always thought they were all destroyed but…what exactly happened to them all?"

Gabumon nodded quietly and added, "That's nothing on what Hokage said in France. He said he and others had been working around the clock to make sure no one did anything stupid. And his plan was to kill the digimon because they couldn't all be sent home! So…what if that's what happened to all the digimon last time?"

"And that's just counting on our world's governments. Who knows what The Trickster is doing," Cody frowned, "I hope it's nothing serious."

Matt groaned and covered his face with his hand, "Because if one was annoying, two will be great. Especially since the second one loves to cause stuff like make armies run at each other!"

Izzy interrupted to ask, "Something about all that bothers me. I thought Tamer was supposed to be the last Ancient. So where'd this Trickster come from? And how come Tamer doesn't know?"

"He said that all the chaos and confusion would give Tamer too big of a headache for him to notice another Ancient," Armadillomon answered, "I reckon that he probably took off before things calmed down. If anything, Tamer probably doesn't know about any of this."

"He also said he spent a long time running from the last war. So he's not just a horrible person who likes to cause problems, he's a coward who runs from them," Cody added grimly.

"Wherever he is," Matt rolled his eyes, "Forget about that. What do we do about these kids?"

"What can we do?" TK crossed his arms, "It's not like we can go anywhere unnoticed with all these reporters around."

"Maybe we should lay low until this whole thing dies down, y'know?" Biyomon suggested, "Then at least we can get some rest and relaxation."

"No way!" Tentomon said, "We need to keep an eye on those kids in case something happens and they make a move!"

"He'sh right," Veemon cheered, "Who knowsh when Arukenimon or Mummymon or that Oikawa will make another move!"

* * *

As frustrating as it was, they spent their New Year's Eve following the kids around on their daily lives while also trying to avoid the attention of the news reporters. Ken and Wormmon followed Noriko at a distance as she made her way on foot around the city until stopping at what appeared to be a random sidewalk. It was there that they bumped into the last pair they expected - TK and Patamon hiding behind some bushes. Ken's eyes widened in surprise, "What are you doing here?"

"Not so loud! We're following our guy, what about you?" TK answered as he pulled them both behind the bushes with him. He gestured ahead towards a boy standing beside Noriko. Ken blinked, "No way. What are they doing here?"

"Who knows," TK shrugged, "I just never thought they would be here."

Ken looked around the innocuous neighborhood, "Why? Is there something important about this place?"

"This is Highton View Terrace," TK explained, "It's where the very first digimon appeared in the Real World years ago. Back when Tamer was still Kari's brother."

Ken's eyes widened in surprise, "Do you mind repeating that but slowly. I'm not sure I follow."

TK frowned, "It's a long story."

"It's not like we have anything better to do," Ken pointed out, gesturing at the two kids who were still standing there without saying a word, "Look, they're just standing there."

TK observed the two kids. It was unsettling to see how perfectly still they could be. Eventually, TK relented, "Right. So, I think we went over this already but…remember a couple years back when this place got bombed or whatever? It turns out it wasn't a terrorist attack - it was a digimon attack. Two digimon: a Greymon and a Parrotmon got into our world and fought each other. That was back when Kari's brother got pulled into the Digital World. Four years passed for us but it was a couple hundred thousand for him - long story short, that's how he became The Digimon Tamer. And it happened right here. And the first time he came back to this world, he landed right in front of the bus we took from Summer Camp. Stopped traffic while he played dead, then he ran off."

Wormmon's mouth hung open, "You're joking right? I mean…I guess that's not surprising. It is Tamer, after all."

"Hey look, there's another one," Patamon gasped out just as a third child appeared. Ken narrowed his eyes as he recognized the kid, "Isn't that boy Yolei was going to keep an eye on?"

"Yuppers," she said, appearing beside them with Hawkmon, "You guys too, huh? I wonder what they're doing."

"Who knows," Wormmon shrugged, "They've just been standing there since we got here."

TK looked at them carefully, "Hey Ken. You said they were trying to get to the Digital World, right?"

"Yeah, that's right, why?" Ken nodded quietly. TK looked at them carefully, "I was just thinking - the first time Kari's brother went to the Digital World was here. Then this is where he showed up when we came back all those years ago. I was just thinking, what if they're trying to open a gate here?"

"Without a computer or a digivice?" Hawkmon asked in disbelief, "That's poppy cock."

As ridiculous as it sounded, Ken had to agree with TK, "No, he's right! Think about it: if there have been multiple gates opened here in this one location, that must mean that there's a weak point in reality right here. And if that's the case, that might mean Oikawa is trying to force that open. The question is - where do the kids come in for that and how does this connect to Myotismon?"

"I don't know but here come two more," Wormmon pointed ahead, just as two more kids appeared to join the small group forming just ahead of them. Sora, Matt, Biyomon, and Gabumon appeared as well and joined them beside the shrubbery, "Hey guys. What's going on?"

"No idea, but we think they're trying to open a gate to the Digital World here," Ken answered them. Biyomon turned her head and asked the same question they all had, "Without a digivice?"

"That's what I said!" Hawkmon said just a little bit too loud and they had to cover his mouth to keep him from being heard. They eyed the kids carefully to make sure they hadn't been noticed before letting the poor bird go. Then Sora sighed, "Okay, now what?"

"You guys tell me. I just got here," Davis complained as he joined them with Veemon, "Sho what'sh all thish noishe? They're all jusht shtanding there!"

"I reckon that Oikawa is finally putting his plan into motion. Why else would they all be gathering here at this one place like this?" Armadillomon commented as he and Cody also joined their group. Ken looked back ahead to see more of the children Oikawa had taken standing together just ahead of them - like they were waiting for something.

They chatted idly as more and more of them came together, until finally every single digidestined was there as well as the children they had been tailing. Ken looked at his digivice and saw that almost an hour had passed since they arrived and all they'd done was stand there. Then Oikawa's van appeared, coming to a stop just beside the kids. The door slid open so that Mummymon could step out to greet them, then Oikawa with a laptop tucked under his arm. He smiled at the children, saying something so quietly that they couldn't hear it. Then Arukenimon stepped out of the van, smiling from ear to ear as Oikawa prompted each of the children to gather in a circle around him as he prepared whatever he was doing.

Matt's grunted, "This is it. Now or never. Does anyone have a plan of attack?"

"Here's a plan! Attack!" Davis shouted as he ran out of cover to go fight them. Veemon sighed at his partner's willingness to go into danger so quickly and ran out to join him, "Let'sh go Davish!"

"Davis! Ugh, come on. Let's go before they hurt themselves," TK's shoulders slumped, dashing out after him. Patamon nodded in agreement, "Yeah, let's go guys!"

The other digidestined ran out of their cover behind the bushes to face Oikawa and the children. Noriko was the first to comment, "We were all wondering when you were going to come out of the bushes. We could see and hear you from the other side of Tokyo."

Oikawa placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her, "Now, Noriko. Play nice. After all, they just don't know any better. It's not their fault that they're listening to a fool who's only using them...what does that mean? It's a little odd to mutter under your breath. Look, could you stop being like that?"

"What are you doing?" Davis pointed at Oikawa in confusion.

Mummymon sighed and shook his head, "He does that sometimes. Best to ignore it until he stops."

"Yeah, we've always been a little weirded out by it," one of the other kids added. Gatomon raised an eyebrow and called out Oikawa, "Hey! NUTCASE!"

Oikawa broke away from whatever conversation he was having to look at Gatomon, smirking in a way that unsettled her a little too much. She frowned, "Could you not look at me like that? It's really creepy."

Oikawa's smile widened at the proclamation, "Oh, if you only knew. So, did you come here to try and stop us? Is that it?"

"Wow, what gave you that idea?" Davis snarked at the older man. Oikawa's smile disappeared, "Charming. And how do you propose to do that? The world is watching digidestined. And you wouldn't want to attack a bunch of kids for no reason, would you?"

"We're here to shtop you!" Veemon said. Oikawa stepped back, the children stepping forward to put themselves in between Oikawa and the digidestined. Davis groaned, "Come on guys, he's the bad guy here!"

"You're the ones trying to stop us from going to the Digital World," one of the children spat at them.

"That's right kids," Oikawa said, opening his laptop and typing into his computer freely, "Now if you'll just give me a minute, I'll go ahead and open the doorway to the Digital World. Let's see...how do I do this again? Yes, yes, of course. Type this here...then this here...then this here...sorry, sorry. I'll fix it. Honestly, it'd be so much easier if I could read any of this."

With each key press, the children started to glow with a brilliant light. With each key press from Oikawa, the children became brighter. Ken had never seen this happen to himself and demanded, "What are you doing to them?"

"Using them as batteries," Oikawa admitted, "Haven't you been paying attention? This is all Ancient Tech. And Ancient Tech needs access to energy to work - emotional energy. Why else do you think I took the dark spore from your neck and put it into theirs? It creates the energy I need to power this gate! And I-"

He paused to sniffle, wiping the tears from his eyes as if he'd been crying. Arukenimon and Mummymon looked at him in confusion, "What are you doing boss? What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry," Oikawa paused, whimpering before collecting himself, "I've been waiting for this moment for so long and now it's here. I...I just wish Hiroaki was here to see this. This ones for you, Hiroki!"

"Hiroki?" Cody repeated in surprise, "Oikawa, if you really were my dad's friend, then please stop this!"

Oikawa smiled, "I'm doing this because I'm your dad's friend. Come now children, be ready as we open a gate to the Digital World!"

The world around them shook, flickering rapidly as the world began to flicker around them. Arukenimon's mouth fell open, "Is this normal? This never happened whenever we used a gate."

"This isn't a normal gate," Oikawa explained to his worried digimon, "We're exploiting the weakened barrier between worlds to punch a hole in reality. Only this one will support more than just Digital life forms."

Just listening to that explanation filled Ken with worry. This was the kind of reality breaking event Tamer always grumbled about. Only he wasn't here to stop it, "Oikawa! Stop it! You have no idea what you're doing!"

"I know exactly what I'm doing," Oikawa said manically, gesturing into the middle of the busy street, "The gate will open right here!"

The tear appeared between two cars, appearing small at first but creating a flash of light so bright that it drew the attention of everyone around. People got out of their cars to look at the growing light, then fled as it grew larger. Wisps of light reached out of the tear, grabbing a hold of anything it could from parts of cars to garbage blowing in the wind and pulled it in. Oikawa laughed gleefully like a child as the tear grew larger, and the world around them began to shift uncomfortably.

It distorted, twisting and changing its shape to match the world before them. It was made all the worse as voices started to echo from within the tear - moments from the past that were hard to forget, "Sam wait."

"Why not join me? I may be smart but I can only do so much on my own. Work with me, together we can all save the Digital World."

"Find your way out! That is the test!"

"Sora! Sora!"

Oikawa's smile widened with the tear and he continued typing on his computer, "And now! To stabilize it!"

The tear shrank down until it was the size of a car and Oikawa declared, "Go now children! There is our door to the Digital World!"

The children rushed forward into the tear, cheering excitedly while Davis and Veemon ran to intercept them, "No! Don't!"

It was too late, most of them had already vanished through the tear. Davis was about to grab Noriko's arm but was stopped when Mummymon's bandaged wrapped around him, "Now now! Don't you know it's wrong to grab a lady."

Noriko looked back once before running through the gate, sticking out her tongue at Davis before she disappeared. TK, Patamon, Yolei, and Hawkmon were about to follow them through but were stopped when a splash of green liquid hit the ground, hissing and eating away at the sidewalk, "Acid Mist!"

"What the actual hell, lady!?" Yolei gasped out at Arukenimon. The silver haired woman frowned and spat out another glob of green acid at them. They all jumped back away from the spit as it away from the floor, Yolei continuing to shiver in disgust, "Just when I thought you couldn't get more disgusting."

"I'm glad you came today, digidestined," Oikawa said calmly. He closed his laptop and tucked it back into his jacket, smirking victoriously and walking towards the tear with the biggest smile, "Because you can see me at my victory! Farewell, digidestined. The next time you see us, the world will be a better place. Mummymon, Arukenimon! Let's go."

He jumped through the tear first, Arukenimon and Mummymon following after him. Mummymon bowed and gestured for Arukenimon to go first, "After you, m'lady."

"Stay on your guard," she warned before following Oikawa. Then Mummymon waved at the digidestined and leapt through after her, "Farewell, digidestined."

"We have to go after them!" Davis shouted, ready to leap in after them only to be wrestled by both Izzy and TK, "Get off!"

"Davis, we don't even know if that gate works!" Izzy explained to him quickly, "For all we know, it doesn't go anywhere!"

"That's why we have to go in after those kids!" Davis shouted back, trying to break free, "I'm not going to let them get trapped in another world because of Oikawa. We have to save them!"

"I hate to say it but Davis is right," Yolei nodded in agreement, "We can't be sure where this gate goes, and if it's not to the Digital World, who knows where it'll go? This could be our one shot to save them!"

"As precarious as this situation is, I'm with you Yolei," Hawkmon nodded, "Let's go!"

"We're not going to stay behind either, are we Kari?" Gatomon asked her partner. Kari shook her head, "No. If we can stop Myotismon from coming back, then I don't see why not! Let's go!"

Before anyone could object, both girls and their partners had leapt through the tear. Seeing them leap through was all the motivation Davis needed. Davis punched his fists together, "Alright! Let's go kick some butt Veemon!"

"You gotsh it!" Veemon answered, both of them leaping through. Ken groaned, "Dammit, I don't know which of them is worse. We'd better go and make sure those idiots don't hurt themselves."

"Did you just call Yolei an idiot?" Wormmon teased. Ken ignored his partner and looked back at TK and Cody, "Are you coming?"

"Might as well," TK's shoulders slumped, looking back at the rest of the group, "What about you guys?"

"I think we should stay," Joe answered, "If this doesn't go your way, we'll be here to play defense. Besides, we'll have to make sure no one else falls into this thing."

Matt opened his mouth to protest but agreed, "That's…actually pretty smart. TK…be safe, alright?"

"Will do!" TK saluted, before leaping through the tear in reality with Ken and Wormmon. Cody sighed hesitantly and Armadillomon asked, "Scared, partner?"

"No. I'm uneasy. This whole thing," Cody paused to consider his words, "I don't have a good feeling about this."

"Don't worry so much. I'll be right here!" Armadillomon nodded. Cody smiled and ran in with his partner through the tear.

* * *

BlackWarGreymon wasn't sure to call this new found feeling of his. He'd found an isolated patch of forest on a remote island far from any other life here in the Digital World. And here, he found a calmness he had never felt. Something about this place put his mind at ease - his concerns about purpose and meaning in life seemed so trivial now. He'd contented himself to pass time simply sitting here, staring off into the endless ocean every day and enjoy himself to whatever he could find - there was plenty of fruit for him to eat if he became hungry, plenty of water flowing from a nearby creek, shade if it became too hot, and trees for fire if he became cold.

This must be what it felt like to be at peace - to want for nothing and simply enjoy himself. And he liked it. He felt content. And all of that was about to come crashing down upon him. Without warning, the world around him began to glow brilliantly. Then it distorted, shifting its shape to reflect a hellish landscape torn apart by battle. Then it shifted again to a dense forest showered in rain. Then once more to a world where he was dwarfed by giant monsters trying to eat him. He assumed a battle stance, ready to fight these giants only for them to disappear as the world shifted again.

Why was this happening? He was at peace! He was no longer driven to battle! Why did this have to happen to him? Then he saw his answer when a tear of light appeared in front of him. Through it, he saw the last thing he ever expected: a face that filled him with nothing but anger and a desire to destroy.

* * *

The blindingly bright light and sensation of falling were all too familiar to the digidestined. Less familiar was how long it was lasting - it never took this long to get to the Digital World. Nor was it normal for them to see Oikawa, Arukenimon, Mummymon and the children just a little further ahead of them. They were closing in on another tear - this one leading to a sandy beach area that Davis could only figure was where the portal to the Real World was going. Only something was off as they saw a figure moving through the other tear towards Oikawa, "What's that!?"

"OIKAWA!" BlackWarGreymon's voice boomed, sending a mix of fear and alarm through the digidestined. Kari gasped, "What's he doing here?"

"I thought he went off with Agumon!" Gatomon groaned out in disbelief, "What is this?"

"We better get in there and stop him!" TK said seriously, looking at his partner, "Time to digivolve!"

"Patamon! Digivolve to! Angemon!"

"Veemon! Digivolve to! ExVeemon!"

"Armadillomon! Digivolve to! Ankylomon!"

"Hawkmon! Digivolve to! Aquilamon!"

"Wormmon! Digivolve to! Stingmon!"

Seeing the situation unfold, Oikawa shouted, "Mummymon! Take care of BlackWarGreymon! Arukenimon, stop the digidestined!"

"Yeah, sure thing boss," Arukenimon grumbled under her breath, turning from where she was to face the digidestined. As ever, BlackWarGreymon proved too fast for any of them and rushed their position - knocking Mummymon aside and going straight for Oikawa. Oikawa grumbled, "What are you doing you fool? That tear won't stay open! If we don't pass through it, we'll be trapped here forever!"

"If it will keep you away from me, then so be it!" BlackWarGreymon roared, "I was at peace! Why did you have to ruin it!?"

"What are you talking about you babbling moron!?" Oikawa complained, "Mummymon!"

"Snake Bandage!" Mummymon cried out, shooting a barrage of wraps at BlackWarGreymon only to see them torn in half. BlackWarGreymon continued towards Oikawa, "I was happy. And you ruined it! Well if I can't find peace, then I'll dedicate myself to ending you!"

"Cry me a river," Oikawa frowned, retrieving his gun from within his coat and raising it to fire. BlackWarGreymon swiped it away and was about to strike the man when Mummymon grabbed a hold of his arm with more bandages, "Can't let you do that good sir! Stand down before I have to end this-WAAGH!"

BlackWarGreymon pulled Mummymon by the bandages and threw him straight into Arukenimon, "Get off me!"

ExVeemon and the other digimon hurried in to grab as many kids as they could, pulling them away from Oikawa before the fight got messy. BlackWarGreymon growled when he saw them, "Why are you here!?"

"We're trying to stop him!" Yolei pointed at Oikawa, "He's trying to get these kids to the Digital World so they can try to take it over!"

This angered the mega level digimon, "Not on my watch."

With as hard a blow as he could, BlackWarGreymon threw his arm to punch Oikawa - only to hit Mummymon instead when the digimon threw himself in front of his master. The blow knocked Mummymon into Oikawa and sent the two spiraling back towards the digidestined. Then BlackWarGreymon retreated to the other side of the tear, "I won't let you anywhere near the Digital World. You'll have to go through me to get near this tear!"

"That was the idea, after all," Oikawa frowned, retrieving his laptop from within his jacket pocket. He looked to both Arukenimon and Mummymon, "Actually this works out perfectly. I could use the energy of the control spires later on. Mummymon, Arukenimon. Do keep them distracted for me. I need a few moments to work."

"Yes…of course," Mummymon hesitated as he realized what he had been asked while correct himself in their free fall. For the first time since this entire mess began, Arukenimon expressed concern for the other digimon, "Mummymon, are you alright?"

"Of course, m'lady. I just need a few moments to catch my breath," Mummymon nodded assuringly, before retrieving a machine gun from within his coat. Oikawa then looked back at the digidestined, "Why don't you behave yourselves and try not to get the children killed? This fight will get messy."

"No way, we're on BlackWarGreymon's side!" ExVeemon shouted back, "Huh, there's a sentence I never thought I'd say."

"Of course you are," Noriko said, just as she elbowed the digimon in the gut and broke free of his hold. ExVeemon reached for her only to see her drift away, "Noriko! Wait!"

"Yeah, right," she stuck her tongue out at him and kicked herself away towards BlackWarGreymon, "Listen up you big jerk, why don't you get out of our way and stop being a pest like those digidestined? They couldn't stop us so what makes you think-"

Noriko stopped as the first few shots fired from Mummymon's gun just missed her. She looked back in a panic, only to see Mummymon grumble, "Noriko, be a dear and stop talking to the big bad digimon! We have to kill him if we're going to get through to the Digital World."

"Hmph, I guess that's the right-" she stopped to clutch at her head, her face contorting into different expressions of what could only have been unimaginable pain. Then she let out a terrible wail, followed by the other children who were also clutching at their heads. BlackWarGreymon also froze in place, his body starting to twist and contort like a glitch. Gatomon panicked, "What's happening to the other kids?"

"Forget them! Look at BlackWarGreymon! He's like something out of a hall of mirrors!" Ankylomon pointed out, as the digimon began writhing in agony. The mega looked at Oikawa, "What…what are you doing to me?"

"We're in Digital Space and I have access to Ancient technology," Oikawa smiled as he typed on the computer, "I might as well be a god here. I didn't want to play my hand too early but you've forced me to do this."

BlackWarGreymon tried to move but the effort caused further pain, wisps of black smoke escaping from his body and drifting into Oikawa's computer. He went on with a wicked smile, "I'm dismantling your code - turning you back into the data you were spawned from while retaining the energy you absorbed through the one hundred of control spires you're made of. In a matter of moments, all you're petty little concerns will mean nothing."

Davis growled, "Not if we have anything to say about it. Why don't you try a bite of this!?"

Just before he could throw his digivice forward, Ken pushed his arm back down, "Careful, Davis! You'll hurt BlackWarGreymon!"

"If I don't, he'll be dead in a matter of seconds!" Davis pointed back, "We have to do something!"

"I'm afraid it's already too late for that digidestined," Oikawa smirked, "You see, this program is automated now. Nothing can stop it. Say good night, BlackWarGreymon."

BlackWarGreymon grunted, focusing his eyes solely on Oikawa as his body began to turn into clouds of data. He charged forward one last time, ready to strike Oikawa, "You won't get away with this. I will have my revenge, even if-"

He burst into data before he could finish his sentence, before he could strike Oikawa, before he even had a chance to end the fight. He left behind only a cloud of data and wisps of black smoke that made up all the spire digimon. The remaining wisps made their way to Oikawa's computer and he slid the lid shut, "There we go."

Once BlackWarGreymon was gone, the children stopped screaming in pain. They took a moment to collect themselves before Oikawa called to them, "Hurry kids! The Digital World awaits! It's just ahead of us!"

* * *

Oikawa rushed ahead of the children before they had a chance to respond, towards the tear with the Digital World on the other side. At that exact moment the tear began to close. Oikawa panicked, hurrying forward to pass through before it sealed itself shut forever, "No! No! This can't be! What's happening!"

It was too soon. There was still just enough energy for them to get through. So why was it closing? He looked around to find another answer and saw the data that had been BlackWarGreymon converging on the rift, "No! No! NO! NOOOOOOO!"

It was clear to him now - the tear wasn't closing because the spores had run out of energy. It was closing because BlackWarGreymon's data was filling a hole in a reality. If they didn't hurry, both tears would seal and they would all be trapped here forever - a gap outside reality. His cries became more desperate as he hurried towards the tear, hoping that it would stay open long enough for at least him to get through. But it was too late, the tear sealed itself shut and closed. On the other side, the tear to the Real World also began to close on them until it finally closed as well - leaving them trapped in a world of darkness.

Oikawa's panic began to spread to the other children, "No! No! I was so close! We're stuck! We're trapped outside reality!"

The implications were just now sinking in for the digidestined themselves, the falling sensation turning into a sinking sensation. Then they hit the ground - hard. Everyone grunted collectively as they slammed into it and Davis grumbled, "What the shit was that!? How is there a floor here? There's nothing around us!"

"I don't know," Ken answered, "I've never had to worry about getting stuck between worlds before."

"How do we get out?" Aquilamon asked. Cody looked at Oikawa, "We could try his computer. We'll have to calm him down first."

Some feet away, Oikawa was on his hands and knees punching whatever invisible surface they were on and groaning. Mummymon and Arukenimon were trying to calm him but it went nowhere, "No! I don't deserve this! This isn't right! I just wanted to go to the Digital World!"

"You deserve so much worse," a new, familiar voice spoke. Cody looked off to the side, to see the voice and saw the unmistakable rotting corpse of his father standing there in his police uniform. His dad barely acknowledged his presence as he walked slowly towards Oikawa, his skin fixing itself and his body returning to its younger shape until he looked how Cody remembered him, "Dad?"

His dad still didn't respond to him, kneeling at Oikawa's side, "You did well Yukio. Not everything went to plan, but we are where I need us to be."

 


	49. To Dream, Perchance to Scream

Cody was floored by the sight of his father leaning down over Oikawa. Oikawa reached up to his dad, clinging to his uniform like a child as he cried out, "Hiroki! Hiroki, what is this? How do we fix this!?"

"You don't need this," Cody's dad smiled, took the gun from Oikawa and threw it aside so that it was out of reach. Then he turned away from Oikawa and made his way towards the digidestined and the children. He eyed each of them carefully, then stopped when he saw Cody. His smiled widened into a terrifying grin Cody had never known his dad to wear, "Hey there, little man. I bet you're happy to see me, aren't you?"

"I don't understand what's happening," Cody said quietly as he reached out to his father, "Are you...is it really you?"

"Yes, Cody. It's me. Your dad," his father began, bending down on one knee to see his son and letting Cody touch him. He was real. As Cody pulled away from his father, he noted, "Look at how you've grown. You've gotten tall, haven't you?"

"You're not my dad," Cody protested, refusing to accept the evidence of his own eyes. His dad responded by slapping him across the cheek, his voice switching from comfort to anger, "Cody, this isn't at all how I raised you. Don't you dare talk to your father that way!"

His dad stood himself up and looked at all of them, "And what is this? You're making friends with these things? With these kids? After what they did?"

"Now hold your horses there-" Ankylomon began in protest, only for Cody's dad to scream, "I am not talking to you!"

"Dad, Ankylomon's my friend," Cody tried to explain, only to be met with another harsh slap across his face. His father scolded, "YOU WILL NOT TALK BACK TO ME CODY! DIDN'T I RAISE YOU BETTER!?"

Cody fell silent after that, unable to bring himself to argue with his father, "Is this what you've been doing since I passed on? Making friends with the monsters that killed me? And him!?"

He pointed an accusing finger at Ken, "After what he did, you decided to oppose him!? These things, these monsters. They're the ones who took me away from you Cody. They're the ones responsible for all of this! HE WAS TRYING TO STOP THIS FROM HAPPENING AGAIN, AND YOU SIDED AGAINST HIM!?"

"But dad, I-"

"YOU SHOULD'VE BEEN ON HIS SIDE, CODY!"

"Okay, I've had enough of this. Who do you think you are, talking to Cody like that?" Davis demanded, pushing himself between the boy and his father. Before Cody could open his mouth to explain, his father spat at him, "Don't tell me how to raise my SON!"

He shoved Davis aside and made his way past Cody. Cody was too dejected to say anything, feeling his heart sink into the pit of his stomach. He thought he had been doing the right thing, that he would be making his father proud. Instead, all his father had done was scold him. Had he been wrong? Should he have helped Ken as the Emperor instead of trying to stop him and save the Digital World? That didn't seem right. No, it couldn't be right. His feelings of doubt were strengthened when Yolei added, "Hey, wait a minute. I thought Cody's dad died."

That's right. His father was dead. So who was this?

"Death is just a door, and time is a window," Cody's dad retorted, "Did you think death was the end of it?"

"I mean...yeah. What else is there?" TK shrugged, his aloof tone breaking as if he'd seen a ghost. This man - this facsimile of Cody's father - gave off a cold, dreadful air that was familiar to him. Cody couldn't quite place why, but it made him uneasy. Cody's dad continued past to the other kids, who took a step away from him as he drew closer but seemed stopped by some invisible barrier. Just before Cody's dad could reach them, ExVeemon and Stingmon moved in his way, "Hey, back off."

"That's right! Leave these kids alone!"

"I don't take orders from you," Cody's dad grunted, looking back at Cody, "Cody, tell your friends to get out of my way."

Cody hesitated for a moment, his mouth opening and closing as he struggled to defy his father. He was right there in front of him. This should've been easy. But it was too difficult to do so, even if it was a fake. He nodded, "Let him through."

"Cody, are you serious?" Davis splurted out in disbelief, "This guy's running around with your dad's face!"

"Yes, because I'm his dad," he answered, "You're not very smart are you? Then again, how could you be? You've been chasing that girl for years even though you knew she only saw you as a replacement for her dead brother! And for what? Because, maybe one day, she might see you as something other than that? Who are you fooling? Wake up and smell the bullshit! She's never going to see you as anything but her substitute brother. Moron."

Davis's went red in the face, half from embarrassment and half from anger. In fact, he fell nearly quiet from it as Cody's dad finally pushed his way past the two digimon, "You disappoint me Cody. I raised you better than this, and this is how you behave. Like a spoiled brat! I mean, you had another opportunity to make things right and you still made the wrong choice! These kids, they were going to help bring order to the Digital World! And you...you chose to stand against them. Can't you make the right call, once?"

"I'm...I'm sorry, dad," Cody stammered, while Ankylomon questioned, "Hang on a second, I thought you said Cody's dad was dead. If that's true, what's happening here?"

"No one's talking to you you overgrown dinosaur reject," Cody's dad spat out, before he turned to Yolei, "And you...my son's so called friend. Tell me, at what point in this friendship were you going to say: 'Gee, this might not be a good idea. A kid his age probably shouldn't be doing this. After all, it's not like his mother would be happy to see him die after what happened to his father!' But of course you won't say that. Crest of love my foot. The only thing you've ever loved was Ichijouji and, to be fair, he can do a helluva lot better than you. After all, you're not the prettiest in the family. Or the smartest. Or the most popular. Why would someone as good as him ever want to be with someone as worthless as you?"

Aquilamon growled, "Don't you dare talk about Yolei like that!"

"Or you'll what? Kill me again? In front of Cody?" He jeered bitterly, then turning to face the captured kids. His scowl turned into a small, wicked grin as he added, "Hello children - such well behaved kids who did as they were told."

"Who the hell are you!?" one of them managed to stammer out, turning the smile on his face into a frown, "Never mind. I assumed you children were far more well behaved than you are it seems. Ill behaved children need to be punished."

He snapped his fingers and each child screamed like they'd just been stabbed, clutching at the nape of their necks as he walked past each and every single one of them. As he walked past each one, he would tap the back of their neck and watch them fall to the ground in writhing agony. He continued from child to child until Cody eventually shouted at him to stop, "DAD! THAT'S ENOUGH!"

"What are you doing to them?" Aquilamon growled, only to be answered with a bemused chuckle. When Cody's father finally stopped laughing, he went on to explain, "You really have no idea, do you? The thing that Oikawa placed in each of their neck is a copy of something we took from Ken Ichijouji - a dark spore placed there years ago. That spore is a small fragment of darkness that feeds of negative emotions and feelings. In turn, it grants its host increased physical ability and mental acuity. That helps to feed the negative emotion, stoking further benefits to the host. And, when that dark energy is full enough, it can be used as a battery of sorts. Couple that with all the Ancient technology Oikawa has appropriated and miracles can be worked.

"Worked to do what?" Cody asked quietly. By that point, Cody's dad had finished what he was doing with the last child and they were all on the ground screaming in what could only be unimaginable pain. He looked back at Cody with a murderous glint in his eye, "Cody, what did I tell you about talking back to me?"

Those seconds it took him to walk over to Cody were the most dreadful in his life, worse than when he'd been trapped in the oil rig or when he'd witnessed him die. This was the worst. When he finally had the nerve to look his father in the eye, it was to hear the words he'd never wanted to hear, "Cody, you disappoint me."

Cody felt like he'd been hit in the gut, and he sank to his knees in disbelief. His dad was disappointed in him. He was a failure as a son. Ken tried to pull him back up on to his feet, "Don't listen to him Cody."

"Yes, don't listen to me Cody," his dad assured him, "Listen to the failure who got his brother killed not once but twice, then managed to be a walking disaster as everything he touched turned to crap around him. What will it be this time? Creating another unholy abomination? I know! It'll be killing your partner. Hey! Boy genius! If you're so smart, how come you couldn't figure out how to make my son actually like you!?"

Ken clicked his tongue, "I'm not perfect. I know I'm not. But at least I'm trying to make things right!"

"And what exactly has that gotten you?" Cody's dad countered, "You had every opportunity to get it right and everything you did made it worse! You couldn't save that digimon and get it back to the Digital World. You couldn't stop the plane from crashing, and you sure as hell couldn't stop Yukio over there!"

"Hiroki, what are you talking about?" Oikawa asked meekly, pushing himself back onto his feet and whimpering, "Of course, they weren't going to stop me. You were helping me, remember? You've told me all about this. You have to help me get out of this! How do I get out of this!?"

"Out of this? Oh, you poor man, Yukio," Cody's dad answered, stepping away from both Cody and Ken to face the old man, "We've been friends for such a long time and it says so much that you couldn't notice what was right in front of you. Remember?"

He put an arm around Oikawa to embrace him, holding him just a bit too long until Oikawa pushed away to see Cody's dad in a way that brought back traumatic memories that he'd tried to forget - his entire lower half gone while upper half had been mangled and rotted away. Cody's dad tried to pull him back in, "What's the matter, Yukio? Don't you want to give your old friend a hug? Or would you rather shoot me like your other old friend!?"

A loud bang rang out from nowhere, and the rotten corpse of Cody's dad changed - twitching and writhing as its appearance came to match an injured Nancy Takaishi, kneeling on the ground with a bleeding leg wound, "Ah! Dammit!"

"Nancy?" Oikawa managed to blurt out as he pushed her away and fell backwards.

"Mom?" TK blurted out in disbelief as he watched his mother falling to her side, clutching at her knee. Cody could tell that he wanted to run to her side, but held himself back due to Angemon. Especially, when TK's mom looked up, "What's the matter, Yukio? Upset about finally shooting something into a woman? That'd be a first for you wouldn't it. Shame it only took about five seconds. Story of your life, isn't it?"

"Boss, please tell me those double entendres are just that," Mummymon reasoned, while Oikawa continued to crawl away in a panic, "What is this?"

"Oh, what's the matter, Yukio?" Nancy asked, now crawling forward on all fours to pin him down, "Can't stand to see the monster you made?"

"Monster?" Oikawa repeated dumbly. Seeing TK's mom stagger her way forward towards Oikawa was enough to finally snap Cody out of his stupor. TK was already rushing at his mom's doppelgänger in a blind rage, "Don't you dare run around with my mom's face!"

Just as he was about to kick the monster, his mom grabbed a hold of his leg and smirked, "What's the matter TK? Don't you want to give your mother a hand? After all, he shot me! Remember? All the blood! All the pain? How I screamed!"

TK's mom turned her head to reveal a pale white face, crimson lips dripping with blood, and dead eyes that stared back into his soul, "Oh, that's right. You're not my little boy anymore, are you? What was it you said? You don't regret anything that happened. Did that include letting your mother get shot?"

TK wriggled his leg free and leapt away from his disfigured mother as she rose up to meet him, "What's the matter TK? Too busy to help your own mother? Or do you just enjoy watching me worry and letting me get hurt? It's not like you said you were going to protect me, were you?"

As the woman slowly stood back up, she grew in size until she dwarfed TK and had him falling back, "Oh, what's wrong with my little baby boy? Did I scare YOU!?"

She cackled manically as the deep black void around them came to life with brilliant light that twisted through every color imaginable and bent back in on itself. Just looking at it was enough to give any of them a headache. And it was then that Arukenimon finally clicked her tongue, "Okay, I've had enough of this. Spider Thread!"

"Snake Bandage!"

Following Arukenimon's lead, Mummymon shot out a lengthy wrap from his body and used it to restrain Nancy Takaishi with help from Arukenimon's web. It was here, for the first time, that Arukenimon ripped away the dress and sunhat to reveal a hideous monster. Her upper body was mostly the same, with a head of silvery hair and a red torso connected to an abdomen with six legs. Her spider form crept to one side of Nancy while Mummymon made his way to the other, "Okay, so what do we do now?"

"Keep this thing restrained," Arukenimon explained, looking to the digidestined, "Well, what are you waiting for? KILL IT!"

"Yes, kill me," Nancy cackled, "Kill me, Takeru! KILL YOUR MOTHER!"

She turned to face Cody, her appearance shifting to match Cody's dad, "CAN YOU DO IT CODY? YOU CAN BURY YOUR FATHER AGAIN!?"

Then into Sam as he faced Ken, "HOW ABOUT YOU KENNY!?"

Then into a younger Tamer, "HOW ABOUT IT, KARI? YOU WENT TO MY FUNERAL ONCE! WHAT'S ANOTHER ONE!?"

Finally, it changed shape into Musyamon and faced Yolei, "WHAT ABOUT YOU, MAIDEN? CAN YOU PUT ME OUT OF THIS MISERY!"

Only Davis wasn't face with something he feared and he stepped forward for all the digidestined, "Shut up dude! Guys, don't listen to whatever this is and all the fake speeches it gives."

Musyamon turned its head to the side, then changed again - into something that could make Davis falter, "Why do you have to be so dense, Davis? Do you want to make things worse for me? I already lost my boyfriend! What else are you going to ruin!?"

Now it was Davis' turn to stumble, stammering as he tried to come up with some kind of rebuke to his sister's argument.

The digidestined were paralyzed by fear into inaction. This thing, whatever it was, had terrified the digidestined so much that they couldn't react. Even their partners were dumbfounded, knowing how much each form meant to their respective partner and not wanting to engage in something traumatic.

"Oh, shut it. If you children can't be bothered to act then I will," Mummymon fired his machine gun impatiently at the thing. It didn't even react to the bullets as they ripped through its body. The wounds closed quickly leaving no marks, but the attack did pull its attention to Mummymon. Its form shifted to match a smug Arukenimon staring back at him, "What's the matter, Mummymon? Have you finally had enough rejection from me?"

"You're not my lady!" Mummymon spat out, firing another barrage of shots at the fake Arukenimon, "My love will never be for someone other than her! And no half wit with a cheap imitation will ever be able to convince me otherwise."

"Oh, you poor, deluded fool," the false Arukenimon mocked, breaking apart the bandage and the spider web that were used to hold her in place. She advanced on Mummymon, still smiling wide to show razor sharp canines that made her look more monstrous than the real Arukenimon. Mummymon stopped firing once she was inches from him, and he seemed taken aback as she began tracing her fingers along his chest. They danced up his coat, undoing the first few buttons before she leaned in close to tease, "Why do you waste so much time and energy trying to win me over? I'd almost think you're a masochist with how much punishment you take. But that's not it, is it? The truth is, despite all the evidence to the contrary - you actually think that you have a chance with me. But you don't realize it yet, do you. You never had a chance with me. We're both born from the same person - the same man. We're just copies, fragments of his psyche. That makes us siblings. Oh...now I see why you're into me. You must have inherited his narcissism."

She pointed towards Oikawa on the ground, still dragging himself away fearfully and towards his gun. The copy continued, "Such a weak pathetic man. But we're not even whole - we're fragments. Pieces. If we were born from someone so weak and pathetic, what does that make us? Are we less than weak? Less than pathetic? It would explain why he treats us the way we do. The way he treats me - the electric shocks, the pain, the torture, the thrill from knowing my life can be ended at a moment. I almost enjoy it. Maybe I'm the masochist - which is why I'll never fall for you. You're not man enough for me."

"I'll show you man enough!" Oikawa said triumphantly, finally reaching his gun and turning to point it at the copy, "DIE!"

A single shot rang out. Then another. And another - repeated gun shots until the gun was empty. But that didn't stop Oikawa from pulling the trigger repeatedly so that the gun continued to click. Each bullet made its way into the copy - hitting her in the back until she collapsed into Mummymon's arms. Mummymon felt his dead heart skip a beat in shock, his mouth hanging open while the copy clung to him, "Mummymon...why...why didn't you help me? Why weren't you strong enough. Save me. Before he really does kill me."

The copy Arukenimon went limp, falling onto the floor that wasn't there at Mummymon's feet before vanishing. The original Arukenimon clapped her hands, "Good shot boss. Although you could've ended it a little sooner. That performance deserves an award."

"Don't you call me out on this," Oikawa fumed, pushing himself back up on to his feet, "Help me find a way out of he-"

Another gunshot rang out and Oikawa's shoulder seemed to explode. He was thrown backwards, landing on his back and looking up to see Mummymon training his machine gun on him. Arukenimon panicked, "Mummymon! What are you doing!?"

"Saving you," Mummymon answered, advancing on Oikawa with the gun still trained on him, "Before he goes too far and finally ends you."

"You...idiot...I'd never-"

"How many times did you threaten her?" Mummymon asked calmly, standing so close that his gun was now pressed against Oikawa's head, "How many times did you torture her with those electrical impulses? How many times did you belittle her? Us? How many more times will you do it until you decide to end her life."

He pressed the barrel of his gun against Oikawa's head, "I won't let you take her from me."

Arukenimon tackled Mummymon, pinning him to the ground with her many legs and screaming, "What the hell is wrong with you, Mummymon? Were you actually going to try and kill him!?"

Mummymon answered her with a kiss, pressing his rotten lips against her spidery ones. Of all the things everyone expected to happen today, this wasn't one of them. With affection in his voice, he explained, "Yes, so I could protect you. You saw what I saw didn't you? He shot you without a second thought!"

"He shot a cheap copy," Arukenimon pointed out angrily, "Dammit, Mummymon. Think with your head for once."

"I am," Mummymon answered, "And I'll be damned if I-"

He was cut silent. A single arm extended through Arukenimon's chest and into his. She grunted, gurgling venomous green blood from her mouth before collapsing onto Mummymon with the full weight of her body. During that brief moment, he could see behind her at their attacker. It was the other Arukenimon with a wicked smile on her face. Then he felt her hand grab at his heart in his chest. Then she squeezed and pain ran through his entire body. Arukenimon's body began to dissipate into data, and the copy opened her mouth to inhale it. Seeing his love be consumed in this way was all the motivation Mummymon needed to raise his gun despite the paralyzing pain he was going through. He squeezed the trigger and fired every bullet into the copy's chest. Her smile widened as every bullet ripper through her chest, leaving a gaping exit wound that closed seconds later. Then he felt a splatter when she crushed his heart in her hands. The pain was brief was excruciating before he saw only darkness.

In the Digital World, Tamer and WarGreymon quietly watched the battle unfolding outside reality. WarGreymon shifted nervously, "We are going to help them, right?"

"Not yet," Tamer replied quietly, "I need to know for sure."

WarGreymon turned his partner wearily, "He broke the illusion! Isn't that enough?"

Tamer was silent for a long time, "Don't get me wrong WarGreymon. This isn't about destiny. I have faith things will work out fine whether or not I act. But I need to know for sure before…before…well, 'y'know."

"But isn't it a foregone conclusion?"

Tamer shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, "Yes. But if they think that I'll always come in and save the day at the last second, they won't develop…that sense that they can win on their own. It's…difficult to explain but you already know what I'm trying to say anyway. I need them to confident without them getting cocky. Then we'll step in."

That answer made WarGreymon nervous and he quietly watched the fight unfold, not sharing his partner's opinion on the fight they were watching. His concern grew when Tamer muttered under his breath, "Come on guys, you can do this."

The digidestined were dumbstruck as they watched the copy of Arukenimon consume both Arukenimon and Mummyon's data. She licked her lips sensually, a look of pure satisfaction on her face before she turned her eyes on the digidestined, "Delicious. Now for desert. Digidestined, it's your turn."

The digidestined visibly jumped back in terror, making Arukenimon laugh, "What's the matter? Scared of your own mortality? Has it now sunk in how pathetically pointless all of your efforts have been? Oh, don't worry. Let me put all your worries at ease."

"Shut up!" Gatomon spat out, "We're not afraid of you!"

"Oh, sweet little Gatomon," the false Arukenimon giggled, digging her fingers into her face and clawing at it until she drew blood. With each shred of skin, Arukenimon revealed the pale horror underneath until all that was left was to pull away her hat and reveal a ruby lips, a pale face wearing a red masks and long golden locks, "Not even of me?"

Gatomon fell silent as she wavered for a second, looking ready to flee but unable to bring herself to do so. Kari gasped, "Myotismon!"

"It's so good to see all of again after all this time," Myotismon smiled widely, baring his fangs at the digidestined and making a show of licking his lips playfully, "And now, you're end is at hand. This time, there's no Agumon or Digimon Tamer to save you. We are outside reality, outside his purview. There are no laws of destiny or reality here. Everything is free from those bonds. All you will find is my will and my desire, digidestined."

"We don't need the Digimon Tamer," Davis said as he punched the air enthusiastically, "We've beaten worse before: Kimeramon, spire digimon, even Dragomon! We'll beat you too!"

"Yeah...yeah, that's right!" Kari stammered finally regaining her resolve, the others joining along with him. Myotismon covered his face with his hand as he started laughing, cackling with his voice so deep that it sounded like something out of this world, "What? Is that it? A small declaration of resolve? No quips about my return? No sly comments? I'm so...terribly disappointed. Underwhelmed even. Then again, none of you were the opponent they were. I almost feel like I put too much time into planning this."

"Planning what?" TK asked angrily, still embittered about how Myotismon had so casually taken his mom's face. Myotismon's smile grew all the brighter when he finally looked at the digidestined, "This! Myotismon! Digivolve to!"

A black cloud emanated from Myotismon's mouth and wrapped itself around his body, twisting and growing until it began to condense into a solid body. And when the smoke vanished, his final form appeared - a twisted nightmare of his usually handsome face that became mouse like. His body itself became blue and skeletal, with two protrusions from his shoulders like wings but in the shape of an aircraft. Most disgusting was where his arms met his torso to become a set of large mouths that with eyes and fangs of their own. They licked their teeth and smacked their tongues, clearly sentient it in the smallest way. His main mouth opened wide to reveal so many razor sharp teeth that was terrifying to look at, "MaloMyotismon."

"Okay, this guy sounded like a creep from everything you told us about him. How did he manage to get more disgusting?" Yolei spoke, shaking at the sight of the new monster. MaloMyotismon made a terrible screeching noise with the mouths mounted on his shoulders that deafened them all, while speaking with his own mouth, "Worry not digidestined. Embrace the dream and succumb to my new world order! Mental Illusion!"

A ray of bright light shot out of his mouth and blinded each of the digidestined. Davis held out his hand to block the light and shouted, "Okay, nuts to this. GET HIM EXVEEMON!"

"YOU GOT IT! VEE-LASER!" ExVeemon shouted at the top of his lungs. There was a loud roar and a scream as the light faded away. Once Davis could see again, he could make out the smoking pile of ash that had been MaloMyotismon as his data dissipated all around. Davis folded his arms triumphantly, "Huh, I guess he wasn't so tough after all."

"Davis! You did it!" Kari jumped excitedly, throwing herself onto Davis and wrapping her arms around him. Davis immediately felt his cheeks flush as Kari jumped up and down excitedly, barely able to contain his excitement from the open display of affection, "You beat Myotismon! You were amazing."

"Yeah! Good job Davis!" Yolei added, pumping the air.

"We couldn't have done it without you," Ken added. Gatomon looked over to Veemon, "I think you mean we couldn't have done it without Veemon."

"Veemon?" Davis repeated, looking over at his partner scratching the back of his head, "Aw, schucksh guysh."

Veemon had been ExVeemon a second ago. That wasn't right. How had his partner regressed to being a rookie? He was pulled from those thoughts as Kari planted a kiss on his cheek, making him all the happier. Before he knew it, his lips were mixed with Kari's.

MaloMyotismon made a terrible screeching noise with the mouths mounted on his shoulders that deafened them all, while speaking with his own mouth, "Worry not digidestined. Embrace the dream and succumb to my new world order! Mental Illusion!"

A ray of bright light shot out of his mouth and blinded each of the digidestined. When the light faded, Kari and Gatomon found themselves standing out on a field in what felt like the Digital World. The air was right for the Digital World at least, and Kari couldn't think of any part of Tokyo that had such green forests, clean air, and such strange wildlife. The others were there and seemed just as confused - digidestined, digimon, and the children Oikawa kidnapped. The only ones absent were Oikawa himself and MaloMyotismon. Davis scratched his head, "Okay, I'll bite. Where the hell are we?"

"Look! Over there!" Armadillomon gestured ahead of them towards three figures - Wizardmon, Agumon, and…

"Tamer!? WIZARDMON!?" Gatomon gasped, "What are you doing here?"

Kari looked down at her partner, happy for her as she ran straight into a hug with the wizard. Wizardmon tipped his hat and offered a bow to them, "I…needed to know that it would work. That you'd be safe."

"We pulled you out," Tamer pocketed his hands in his long blue jacket, "Once you had MaloMyotismon in the space outside reality, we knew. We both knew it was time to take you out of there. So we did. You're safe now."

"But…what about MaloMyotismon!? Or Oikawa!?" Cody asked in a panic. Tamer shrugged dismissively, "They both tried to alter the fabric of reality to their whims and change the course of destiny. Well, if they hated it so much, then they can live outside of it. Destiny. Reality. There's nothing there but what they choose to make for themselves. Just as they always wanted."

"But Oikawa-" Cody tried to protest only to be cut off, by Agumon, "Oikawa knew what he was doing. Even if Myotismon was manipulating him, he still chose to do it. And that can't be forgiven."

Tai nodded in agreement and quickly changed the subjects, "Forget about him. Besides…there are more important things to attend to."

He offered Kari a smile and place a hand on her head, "So…sis…no, that's just too weird to say."

He paused as he realized the mistake he'd made and seemed to apologize, "Sorry. Look. It's over now. It's time for things to go back to how they used to be. Gatomon gets her friend back…and I…well…maybe I am your brother and maybe I'm not. But…I promised to look out for you didn't I? And if that means…well, I guess I can get used to calling you…my sister…"

Kari wasn't sure how to feel about that - was Tai…saying he was going to be her brother again. He added, "You can call me Tai…or Tamer…or Taichi. I don't care what. But…I probably won't be able to call your parents mom or dad."

Kari giggled, noting that Gatomon still hadn't let Wizardmon go.

MaloMyotismon made a terrible screeching noise with the mouths mounted on his shoulders that deafened them all, while speaking with his own mouth, "Worry not digidestined. Embrace the dream and succumb to my new world order! Mental Illusion!"

A ray of bright light shot out of his mouth and blinded each of the digidestined. TK had enough of this. He acted on the first plan to come to mind and called out to the others, "He's a dark type, right? A Nightmare Soldier or whatever it is Izzy's calls them. Davis! Kari! Cody! You know what means, right?"

Something clicked inside of their heads as the idea got to all of them. Then it all came together when Ken and Yolei cheered them all, "Go for it guys!"

Stingmon and Aquilamon slammed into MaloMyotismon, going for his eyes to blind him while everyone else's digivices rang to life, "Angemon! Ankylomon! DNA Digivolve to! Shakkoumon!"

"Veemon! Golden Armor Digivolve to! Magnamon, the Guardian of Miracles!"

"Gatomon! Digivolve to! Angewomon!"

Angewomon, Magnamon, and Shakkoumon circled around MaloMyotismon and wasted no time firing into him, "Celestial Arrow!"

"Magna Impact!"

"Justice Beam!"

The attacks collided with MaloMyotismon and had the digimon screaming in utter agony. TK had remembered right. MaloMyotismon was weak to their Holy digimon - which made him a sitting duck to their attacks. They could win. Just one more blast would be all that it took. He punched the air, "That's right! You got him guys!"

As he said those words, a fear struck him in the back of his mind. This was all too easy. He didn't know why it seemed too easy, but it was. But he couldn't concentrate on that. Not when they were so close to defeating MaloMyotismon. Just one more attack. That's all it would take.

"Magna Impact!"

"Justice Beam!"

The strikes hit their mark and MaloMyotismon was on his knees, "Wait! Wait…"

"No," TK said angrily, looking back at the others and recalling all the terrible things they did, "This is for Cody's dad. Mimi's mom. Kari's brother. Ken's brother. Wizardmon. All of them. Finish it Shakkoumon!"

"Justice Beam!"

Another blast of light was all it took to turn MaloMyotismon to dust. As he dissipated, the world around them started to crack and a brilliant dazzling display of light shone forth. Then it shattered like a glass window, revealing the Real World around them. They were back in Highton View Terrace, and it was now the middle of the night. Fire works could be heard ringing in the distance to greet the digidestined into the New Year. Then he heard his parents and brother call out to him, "TK!"

The others' parents were there as well, each going to meet their respective child. A flurry of reporters were there also, trying to ask questions only to be drowned out by the hugs from his family and his brother. For a brief moment, he wondered if this was what it would be like if his parents never divorced.

MaloMyotismon made a terrible screeching noise with the mouths mounted on his shoulders that deafened them all, while speaking with his own mouth, "Worry not digidestined. Embrace the dream and succumb to my new world order! Mental Illusion!"

A ray of bright light shot out of his mouth and blinded each of the digidestined. As the light faded, a single cry came out from Myotismon. A voice Cody had heard just a little while ago but more scared, "Cody! Cody! Stop him!"

Cody opened his eyes to see the ghostly shape of his father reaching his way out of MaloMyotismon's body. He extended one hand towards Cody as if begging for help and cried out, "Cody! Cody! Please save us!"

"Dad?" Cody looked at his father in disbelief, unable to believe he was looking at his own father reaching out to him. MaloMyotismon looked down at this ghostly figure in disbelief, "You...your soul is mine. What is this!?"

"Cody, please...listen to me," his father pleaded, "This...this isn't living. This torment. Please, end it, son. I can't...I don't want to be..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Cody witnessed his father disappear back into MaloMyotismon. Oikawa witnessed the same sight and reached out for his friend, crying out in panic, "Hiroki! Hiroki, NO!"

MaloMyotismon took this chance to smile gleefully, "I'm glad you saw that actually. Do you understand now? Your father exists inside me - his soul is trapped within me. All the souls of the dead are trapped inside me! If I die, then so does he. You wouldn't want your father to die a second time, would you Cody?"

Cody's fists shook with such unbridled anger that he couldn't contain himself, "My father...my father died a long time ago because of you. And he can't even find rest in death, because you're keeping him hostage. If killing you is what it'll take to free him, then I will free my father! Ankylomon!"

"Angemon!" TK called out to his partner. Both Cody and TK swapped glances, knowing what the other was thinking and ready to execute on that idea. The two digimon raced ahead and cried out in one voice, "Ankylomon! Angemon! DNA Digivolve to! Shakkoumon!"

The light of digivolution stunned MaloMyotismon, and left him wide open to an attack from Shakkoumon who rammed the digimon at full force, "JUSTICE BEAM!"

The blast of energy from his eyes was enough to throw MaloMyotismon sliding back towards Oikawa. Oikawa scrambled up to his feet and moved out of the way just as MaloMyotismon crashed into an invisible wall behind him. Then the mega level digimon laughed, "Is that it, digidestined?"

"No, it's not," Ken added triumphantly, "Cody isn't alone in this. We all want to make you pay! To stop you."

"Yeah! We're not about to let you get away with what you've done!" ExVeemon raised his fist and pumped the air.

"I'll never forgive you for any of it," Gatomon added, "It's time for you to pay!"

"And you better believe that there won't be a happy ending for you this time!" Yolei cheered. A dazzling display of bright light followed as their digimon partners digivolved.

"Gatomon! Aquilamon! DNA Digivolve to! Silphymon!"

"ExVeemon! Stingmon! DNA Digivolve to! Paildramon!"

"Paildramon! Digivolve to! Imperialdramon!"

All three digimon attacked MaloMyotismon at the same time, combining their efforts to bury MaloMyotismon. The angry digimon shook with rage as he crumbled to data under their attacks, "No! I can't lose! I was so close!"

As he pushed himself back up, he could feel Cody's father reaching back out from his chest, "That's it! You're beating him, Cody! Save us! Save all of us here from this hell!"

A direct request from his father to save him. Cody nodded and knew what he had to do, "Don't worry dad! We'll save you!"

MaloMyotismon made a terrible screeching noise with the mouths mounted on his shoulders that deafened them all, while speaking with his own mouth, "Worry not digidestined. Embrace the dream and succumb to my new world order! Mental Illusion!"

A ray of bright light shot out of his mouth and blinded each of the digidestined. Yolei covered her face to protect herself when she heard Ken's voice call out to her, "Yolei! Watch out!"

She opened her eyes just as she felt someone push her onto whatever invisible surface they were standing on. When she opened her eyes, she saw Ken lying over her and using himself as a shield. It took just a second too long for her eyes to adjust and see that MaloMyotismon had tried to stab her while she was blinded. And Ken had saved her. The idea that Ken had rushed in to save her a third time left her flustered and she could feel her heart rushing all the blood to her face. He pushed himself up first, offering her a hand, "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah," she stuttered, happy to be taking his hand. MaloMyotismon was unimpressed, "Oh, look at the happy couple. Til' death do you part!"

He made another move to attack them but was stopped when Aquilamon and Gatomon both struck him from behind. MaloMyotismon rolled backwards and took a second to correct himself, "WHAT!?"

"You're not laying a hand on her!" Aquilamon announced. Gatomon added, "That's right! You keep away from her! I'm not letting you hurt anyone else!"

"Defiant until the end aren't you my servant? You always were a nuisance," MaloMyotismon growled, readying to fight the digidestined. Acting on instinct, Yolei looked over at Kari and nodded. The two digidestined raised their digivices together and the combined lights flashed into MaloMyotismon's eyes, then illuminated their partners at the same time, "Aquilamon! Gatomon! DNA Digivolve to! Silphymon!"

Silphymon leapt into the air and spun in place, kicking MaloMyotismon in the face, "Take this you overgrown thing that Kari's mom keeps in her bedroom. What were you doing in their bedroom? I'm a cat! Wandering around is what I do! Why does she have that in her bedroom!? I don't know! Humans are weird!"

"Wait, what thing?" Kari raised an eyebrow. Yolei had a hunch she knew what Gatomon was talking about but didn't feel the need to answer. Ken joined Yolei at her side, "It's about time we got in there too, right Davis!"

"Yeah, that's right!" Davis punched the air, "We can't let Yolei get ahead of us guys!"

Together, their digivices sang to life with light and the digidestined's partners came together in a victorious chorus.

"ExVeemon! Stingmon! DNA Digivolve to! Paildramon!"

"Ankylomon! Angemon! DNA Digivolve to! Shakkoumon!"

MaloMyotismon cackled, "This won't change anything! You've already lost!"

"How have we lost?" Yolei asked furiously, "We have each other. If we work together, we can beat you. What do you have?"

MaloMyotismon cackled defiantly, "It's because you rely on others for strength that you will lose. When will you foolish children accept that fact?"

Yolei, angry and annoyed with MaloMyotismon, called out to their partner digimon, "Let's get him guys!"

"Static Force!"

"Justice Beam!"

"Desperado Blaster!"

The attacks struck MaloMyotismon and the massive digimon vanished in a flash of light - like Arukenimon, BlackWarGreymon, and Mummymon before him. They had beat him. They had won.

MaloMyotismon made a terrible screeching noise with the mouths mounted on his shoulders that deafened them all, while speaking with his own mouth, "Worry not digidestined. Embrace the dream and succumb to my new world order! Mental Illusion!"

A ray of bright light shot out of his mouth and blinded each of the digidestined. Ken looked to the side at Davis, who was blinded into inaction. When he saw the goggles on Davis's head, Ken remembered something - the pair of goggles he still kept on him as a reminder of his time as the Emperor and wrongs he'd committed before refashioning it over his head. He'd brought them with and kept them in his pocket.

It felt wrong to place it back over his head again but he knew he would need these to see through the light. He could see Stingmon and ExVeemon were still blinded, leaving them open to an attack by MaloMyotismon. He shouted out to them just in time for them to get out of the way, happy to see MaloMyotismon foiled and determined to end this here, "You used us. You used all of us! Even my brother!"

"Means to an end," MaloMyotismon countered, "An end you were all too happy to help me acquire, boy."

Ken shook with anger but did his best to control himself, "Not anymore. After everything you did, I'll pay you back for all the suffering you caused!"

"Then end it, digidestined child," MaloMyotismon laughed, "Do you honestly think you have the right?"

"He might not," Davis added with his digivice raised over his head, "But we do! Come on Ken!"

Ken followed his lead and watched their partners fuse together in a dazzling display of light, "ExVeemon! Stingmon! DNA Digivolve to! Paildramon!"

"Paildramon! Digivolve to! Imperialdramon!"

"Imperialdramon! Mode Shift to! Imperialdramon Fighter Mode!"

"Wait, what!?" MaloMyotismon managed out in time just to be punched in the face so hard that he flew backwards through an invisible wall that cracked open to reveal the Real World on the other side - where the other digidestined were all waiting. In the lead was Sora with Garudamon, "There he is!"

"Good work, Ken!" Yolei hugged him ecstatically. As the digimon rushed in to tackle MaloMyotismon, Ken felt a sense of belonging he hadn't felt before - here in Yolei's arms.

MaloMyotismon looked down at the digidestined and their partners standing in place with blank expressions on their faces. They stood there silently, almost unconscious with how still they were. Myotismon laughed at the victory he'd just been handed. This was it. This was exactly what he needed, now it was simply a matter of killing them all. The chains of destiny would become undone and he would be free of his fate. Still, he had to be sure - they could escape if even one of them had the will to break through the illusion. But could they break through a second, "MENTAL ILLUSION!"

Another blast of light followed and the digidestined fell over with their partners, staring blankly and unmoving. The children whom Oikawa abducted had stopped screaming in agony by then, and were huddled away from both the digidestined and MaloMyotismon. They all shook with fear. They should. If any of them were brave enough to ask why the digidestined were like this, the answer would only make him stronger. As long as they were afraid, full of doubt and paranoia of their environment, he would be made stronger.

And one of them was foolish enough to ask, "What's wrong with them? What did you do? Why aren't they moving?"

MaloMyotismon saw an opportunity to gloat and knew this would be the only chance for anyone to appreciate his plan, "They're trapped in an illusion - their greatest nightmare made manifest. Beneath that they're trapped in another reality. Their idealized reality made manifest. Why worry about the problems of the world when your ideal world can be written for you? And if they should escape, only an endless nightmare awaits them beyond it. There is no escape for them - no freedom except in death!"

He began to laugh, howling with joy at the mastery of his own scheme. He had won. He was finally undefeatable. All he had to do to cement his victory was to kill them. And this time, there would be no one to stop them.


	50. The Boy Who Was Special

Davis looked down at Kari at his side happily, his chest tight and cheeks rosy from the fact that she hadn't let go of him. His mind was also hazy from the kiss she'd planted on him; one that didn't last as long as he hoped it would've but he wasn't going to complain about it. It seemed like Kari had finally made up her mind - stopping Myotismon seemed to have been just the thing he needed to do to make her see him as something other than a brother surrogate. He couldn't have felt happier. Yet he didn't feel as happy as he should've.

He couldn't dwell on it though because they still had to find a way out of here. Davis looked down at his digivice - it had opened a gate between worlds before. There was no reason it couldn't work here, "Digiport Open!"

He held out his digivice in front of him and watched the light of the tear between worlds appear. And just beyond it was the Real World - Highton View Terrace. It was night time on the other side, where the older digidestined, their partners, and even their families were all waiting for them with open arms. Davis and Kari led everyone out through the tear in time to hear the first fireworks go off. The sky lit up with a rainbow of colors as Davis asked, "Huh? What's going on?"

"It's New Year's," Matt answered, his arm around Sora, "We all saw it. You guys beat Myotismon at the stroke of midnight. Good job, Davis."

"You did? But how?" Kari asked, suddenly turning bright red in disbelief while Sora explained with a finger pointed up, "It was the same as years ago when the Digital World appeared in the sky. Only this time it was…wherever you guys ended up."

"Yeah, good job on taking out Myotismon," Izzy added cheerfully, "You had a lot easier time of it than we did."

Izzy was right, it did almost seem too easy. Everyone had spent all this time worrying about him and he went down like a chump…after he'd absorbed the data from BlackWarGreymon, Arukenimon, and Mummymon. With that much power and energy, he should've been unbeatable with all that power. But he wasn't.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when his partner began to brag, "He wash a piece of cake! One hit wash all it took to take him down!"

"Guess that explains Tamer's whole thing about you being important," Gatomon added slyly. Davis raised an eyebrow at that comment. How did Gatomon know about that? He'd never admitted that to anyone. He'd only told Kari that he'd met Tamer previously. How did Gatomon know about that? And then he looked at Kari, who was still flustered as Sora and Matt began prodding her with questions about their kiss. TK didn't seem all that bothered by it either, nor did Yolei and Ken. Something was off. But he couldn't quite place his finger on it.

Then another flash of light appeared beside them. He spun around in place, and found a tear in the fabric of reality. Tamer and Agumon stepped out of the hole in reality they'd just made with big smiles on their faces - Tamer placed a hand on Davis' head to mess his hair and smiled, "Good job Davis."

Davis had no idea how to react to the praise from this guy he barely knew or if he should even care about it. One thing was certain though - he wasn't going to let this guy get off so easily for what he'd done to his sister. He summoned all his soccer experience into one kick that he sent between Tamer's legs - sending the poor guy to the ground, "Ow! Okay, I deserve that."

"You deserve so much after what you did to my sister!" Davis snapped at him. Tamer ran a hand through his hair, "Sister? What did I do to your sister?"

Davis blinked, unsure if he was playing stupid of if he actually didn't know what he did to his sister. As he thought about Jun, he remembered that Kari had been looking for Tamer for a long time - wanted nothing more than to see him. And when he looked to the side, he saw Kari standing in disbelief with Sora and Matt. She had noticed his arrival and had done nothing to greet him despite how much she wanted to see him. And Matt, who claimed he wanted to deck Tamer more than once, actually seemed worried for his well being. This wasn't right.

None of this was right.

He looked down at The Digimon Tamer and asked the one question on his mind, "What is going on? What is all this?"

"Davish! What'sh wrong?" Veemon asked, running up to his side. Davis looked around him and gestured to everything he could think of, "Veemon, don't you get it? There's so much wrong with this picture! Kari hasn't run to her brother at all even though all she ever wanted was to get him back! She's been all over me instead, which is nice but…come on, I'm supposed to believe that she doesn't want to say anything to him? Matt and Ken haven't even tried to deck him. Tamer is just lying there and…"

Veemon frowned and crossed his arms, "I don't get it. Are you feeling alright?"

"Kari kissed me, Veemon," Davis repeated, now beginning to understand, "She wouldn't kiss me. She…doesn't see me that way. She wouldn't suddenly change how she's seen me for years just because we beat Myotismon. Myotismon! His last attack! What was it called?"

"Mental Illusion," Tamer chuckled from the sidewalk. He dusted himself off and brushed past Davis, then turned the boy to face him, "You rejected the dream, Davis. You had everything you ever wanted and you rejected it. If you don't want the dream, then live the nightmare. Your worst fears made real."

Before Davis could retort, Tamer turned to leave with Agumon - heading out into the street. Kari noticed her brother departing and chased after him, "Tai! Tai, wait!"

Tamer waved her off and used his digivice to open a gate without so much as a word to her. Both he and Agumon leapt through before she could catch them, leaving Kari standing alone in the middle of the street. Davis had just barely enough time to process the fake Tamer's last words to him when Kari turned around. Her eyes were covered in misty tears that just barely hid a fire, "What the hell, Davis?"

"Kari," he started to try and reason with her. His mind went blank with the sound of a car horn and lights suddenly shining on Kari's face. A small truck drove slammed into Kari at full speed before screeching to a halt, sending her flying. Davis's heart stopped as he watched Kari fly several feet down the road, coming to a stop at a cross walk.

"KARI!" her parents shouted as they ran to their daughter's side. Gatomon was the first one to get there, huddled over her partner's body and trying to get her to respond. The drivers of the truck came out, dumbstruck about what happened. The first gasped, "Holy shit. I didn't see her. Fuck! Is she alright!?"

"What was she doing standing in the middle of the road? Is she okay?" the other driver asked. Davis was just about to join Gatomon and Kari's parents when he felt someone grab him from behind and turn him around. It was TK and the look of anger on his face was enough to scare Davis into inaction as the boy threw him against the truck. TK pinned him there, growling angrily, "What the hell were you thinking Davis!?"

"TK!" Davis began, "It's a trick! All of this! It's-"

TK gestured at Kari, "Do you know how long she'd been trying to find her brother!? He was right there! And then you decked him! And now…"

TK paused as his gazed shifted downwards. It was hard to see in the dark, but the bright flashes of fireworks illuminated his face enough for Davis to make out the streams of tears, "I…I liked her…IDIOT! THIS IS YOUR FAULT!"

He punched Davis in the gut so hard that the wind came out of his lungs and he ended up sinking to his knees. The force of the punch knocked the wind out of Davis and he gasped for breath, turning his head up to see TK staring back with a fire in his eyes. Patamon tried to reason with his partner, "TK! Stop it!"

"It's his fault, Patamon," TK shook angrily, "Kari's…"

Yolei frowned, "Look, TK. I get it - decking Davis isn't the answer here though."

"Why not?" TK asked her, and Yolei didn't answer. At first, Davis was certain she was coming to his defense but he saw the angered look in her eyes and knew this was far from the case. She was just as mad at him - just as bitter. It was on all their faces. They were blaming him.

"It sounds like a good solution to me," Gatomon snarled, suddenly rushing Davis with her claws out. Davis raised up his arms to protect himself and was spared only when Veemon leapt in the way to protect him, "Vee-headbutt!"

The two collided in the air and bounced away from each other, Gatomon landing on her paws while Veemon rolled into a stand, "What givesh, Gatomon?"

"Kari's dead!" Gatomon hissed at the two. Those words struck Davis harder than it should've - Kari was dead. Was this a dream? Yes, it had to be. It wasn't real before. There was no reason it should be now. Tamer even said he'd rejected the dream; live the nightmare. And this was a nightmare - Kari was dead and the others despised him. But if this was a nightmare, he wasn't going to fall for it. He tightened his hand around his digivice and looked at his partner, "Veemon."

"I hope you've thought of shomething Davish," Veemon said quickly, "I can handle two of them in a pinch. Any more than that and we're in trouble."

Davis frowned, pushing himself up just as the others started to gang up on him. At just above a whisper, he answered, "I do have an idea, buddy. Get ready to run on my mark."

He just really hoped this worked. He pulled Veemon close to him just as Gatomon readied to pounce again and pointed his digivice at his feet, "Digiport Open!"

A tear opened beneath them and they fell. He wasn't sure where they were going but anywhere had to be better than there.

* * *

TK and his parents decided to spend the first day of the New Year going to the New Year shrine visit. Matt and Sora had come a little earlier and had gone off to spend time together. It was nice to see his parents talking to each other happily. It seemed that their recent excursion into the void to fight Myotismon, and the danger the world was put in once again, sparked some kind of parental fear in the two that also rekindled their relationship.

Patamon looked up at his partner, "It looks like you're the only one in the family without someone special."

"What are you talking about?" TK asked his partner curiously. Patamon gestured towards Matt and Sora as they walked the perimeter of the shrine together. Then he gestured towards the rest of the digidestined who had all decided to come together to celebrate the New Year. More specifically, Patamon pointed out Davis and Kari. He hung around her and seemed intent on trying to win her over. TK immediately knew where Patamon was going with this and explained, "It's not like that Patamon."

"It sure seems like it to me," Patamon raised an eyebrow, "Why don't you go over and say hi?"

TK rolled his eyes, "She's just a friend."

Patamon scoffed, "Alright, sure."

Just as TK was about to rebuke his partner, he heard a faint and echoing scream coming from nowhere. Then a tear opened just above their heads, through which Davis and Veemon fell in front of them. Davis and Veemon coughed, collecting themselves from their rough landing before scrambling to their feet upon seeing TK, "Whoa, I thought for sure we'd get away from you. Back off TK! I don't want to hurt you!"

"Davis?" TK asked quietly, "What are you doing here? Weren't you over there with K…ari…?"

He did a double take to make sure his eyes weren't wrong. Davis and Kari were at one of the booths that had set up in the shrine; Davis was even trying to get Kari to share some cotton candy with him. Yet there was another Davis right in front of him. He asked, "What the hell am I looking at? How can you be over there and right here!?"

"Oh, good," Davis dusted himself off, "You're a different TK. Wait…how do I know this isn't still part of the illusion?"

"Illusion? Davis, what are you talking about? Why are there two of you?" TK demanded of the second Davis, while gesturing at the first, "And what was with that digiport a second ago?"

"Two of me?" the second Davis looked off in the direction of the first, "Huh…wait, is this your illusion? Oh man! Then how am I going to convince you that I'm not the illusion?"

"Well, you sound like Davis so that's a good start," TK snickered before taking a deep breath to calm himself down, "Tell you what - if you're the real Davis, tell me something only the real Davis would say."

Davis crossed his arms and grunted, "No way, there's no way I'm telling you anything until I know you're real. If you're the real TK, then tell me what the last thing you remember is."

"You asking me what the last thing I remember is," TK answered smartly, making both Veemon and Patamon cover their faces. Davis groaned, "I meant before that. MaloMyotismon! He shouted Metal Illusion. You remember that, right?"

"Yeah, why?" TK asked, then realized what Davis was implying, "Oh."

"Oh is right!" Davis pointed out, "That's how I figured it out. There was a lot of stuff in mine that didn't make sense and it took me a while to piece it all togethere. It's got to be the same for you!"

At soon as Davis mentioned that, TK found his attention drawn towards his parents. They had been awfully chummy with each other despite their otherwise tense history. It was almost like the years of not talking to each other didn't happen. He didn't give it too much thought because this was what he'd always wanted - for his family to be closely knit and back together in spite of everything that happened. But with Davis bringing up what had happened to him, he was starting to wonder if he was caught up in another illusion too, "There is something that doesn't seem right."

"Exactly," Davis pointed out, "And we have to get out of here before-"

"Dude, what's this?" the first Davis asked as he approached TK with Kari in tow, "I mean…Why are there two of me?"

"I mean, one Davis following me around I can deal with. Don't tell me I'm going to have two now," Kari added.

"Hey back off you phonies!" the second Davis shouted with a raised fist. The first Davis cracked his knuckles, eye twitching with anger, "Phony? You're the phony, dude! Get back Kari. JP, who is this guy?"

"What did you call me?" TK asked, wanting to be sure he'd heard the first Davis correctly. Annoyed, the first Davis groaned, "Oh, come on TF. This guy's obviously working with Myotismon!"

"Uh huh," TK nodded solemnly, putting a hand to his chin and giving his next action considerable thought before acting on it. And act on it he did when he threw a punch at the first Davis as hard as he could. The first Davis fell straight backwards, and was caught by Kari looking up at TK in shock, "TK!"

"What gives, dude?"

"Alright!" the second Davis cheered, relieved to see that he was believed over the fake. TK massaged his wrist and calmly explained, "The real Davis hasn't gotten my name wrong since the second time we went into the Dark Ocean. I don't know who you are, but you aren't the real Davis."

The first Davis stood there with his mouth hanging open. Then he started to laugh manically. The manic laugh became pure, uncontrolled howling as he finally clapped his hands together, "I see he's awoken you from the dream - everything you've ever wanted made real. Do you want to throw it away so quickly?"

"I mean…it's not real, right?" TK raised an eyebrow, "If it's not real, why would I want it?"

"You have no idea how ironic you sound," the first Davis jeered, "Fine. Bid farewell to the dream, and embrace the nightmare!"

The skies darkened overhead as thunder clouds rolled in, and lightning flashed across the sky. Silhouetted by the flash of light was the unmistakable shape of Devimon hovering over head with his arms spread out. In each hand, he held one of TK's parents hostage - his mother on the left and his father on the right. TK's blood ran cold and his heart started to race as the anger began to rush through his body, "No…no! NO!"

"Dude! It's not real!" Davis tried to explain to him. When TK turned his head to look at him, he couldn't help but notice that Davis seemed taller than before. More to the point, he was now at Veemon's height and even the little digimon had no way to hold back his surprise, "Whoa! TK! You're all short now!"

"I am?" TK asked as his voice squeaked. Patamon looked down at him, "TK, you look just like you did years ago!"

TK looked down at himself in disbelief, surprised to see that he'd regressed in age into his younger self. Even his clothes changed to match what he'd worn years ago. Then Devimon cackled above, his monstrous laugh echoing inside TK's head. When he looked back at Devimon, he saw his parents screaming and begging as Devimon began to crush them in his hands. TK cried out in despair, "MOMMY! DADDY!"

He felt Davis grab him by his shoulders and start shaking him to get his attention, "Dude, this isn't real! Snap out of it!"

TK couldn't hear him though, he was too fixated on watching his parents being murdered in front of him. He turned towards Patamon and begged, "Patamon! Please! You have to help-"

He stopped when he heard the sickening crunch from above. TK slowly turned his head back, just barely able to make out Devimon's form against the darkened skies. Then lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, and TK felt his heart sink into his stomach. Devimon let both his parents go and he watched, in terror as both their limp bodies fell to the ground. Then Devimon grinned, "Oh you poor thing. Still so haunted by the past…still so affected by what you saw. There's no reformatting here in this world. Your parents are dead, your friends are next, and you do nothing but shake there in your little shoes."

"TK! Snap out of it! This isn't real!" Davis shook him harder, but TK didn't dare pull his eyes away from Devimon. All of his anger, all of his hatred for the dark digimon and the terror he unleashed on them when they first came to the Digital World was gone - replaced only by fear and despair. He could hear his partner's voice calling out to him too, "TK! Listen to Davis! None of this is real!"

Devimon picked up his brother Matt in one hand and Kari in the other. Not them, TK thought. Anything but them. He wanted so desperately to help them but was too terrified to move. Then he felt something hard hit him across the cheek, and TK found himself lying face first in the dirt. The sharp pain pulled him out of his stupor enough to look up at Davis. The boy huffed, "TK! Look, I…don't hit little kids. But you gotta snap out of it! This is a dream!"

"A dream," TK repeated, his voice still shaking. Davis nodded, "Don't forget. Myotismon's attack was called Mental Illusion. Hell, the other me even said something about the nightmare a minute ago. None of this real."

That was right. Davis had just explained to him that this was all a terrible dream just moments ago. Why did he fall for a simple trick a second time around? He pushed himself back up and found himself at equal height with Davis again, "You're right…thanks Davis."

"No problem dude," Davis cheered. TK looked back up at Devimon leering down on them, trying to ignore the fact that he was suffocating both Matt and Kari in his hands again, "How do we get out of here?"

Davis raised up his digivice and grinned stupidly, "Well, this worked before, didn't it? It took us here. If we keep opening gates, we've got to get to everyone else eventually. Digiport Open!"

A tear appeared beside them, released a dazzling display of brilliant lights beside them. Devimon recoiled away from the bright light while Davis shouted, "Come on dude! Let's get out of here!"

TK didn't need to be told twice. Without a second's hesitation or a doubt in his mind, he grabbed a hold of his partner and followed Davis and Veemon through the tear in reality. The moment he passed through, he felt himself start falling and the wind rushing past his face. He could see Davis just ahead of him, on the ground with a wide eyed expression on his face. Thankfully, the boy had the sense to roll out of the way just as TK and Patamon slammed into the ground.

* * *

Kari, Gatomon, and Wizardmon sat under the shade of a tree in the Digital World. The children Oikawa had abducted wanted to stay a little longer and implored Tamer to let them stay in the Digital World. After some pleading, her brother eventually relented and allowed them to stay. After everything they'd all been through, he figured that a small break wouldn't hurt anyone. Even better, it would let the children who would normally never see the Digital World have a chance to see it with their own eyes. Davis and Veemon were ecstatic by this prospect and decided to give the children a small tour even though none of them knew where they were.

Davis asked Kari if she would like to tag along but was shot down by both TK and Yolei who seemed to pick up on the fact that she wanted to be alone with Tamer. It was an easy sell, with Cody and Ken playing on Davis' ego to encourage his quick tour. With Davis busy taking the kids on their tour as he guided them off into the Digital World, Tamer took the moment to join Kari under the tree and relax. There were no words to describe the joy she was feeling to see her brother beside her with his arms behind his head and with a contented smile on her face. Gatomon was less pleased to see him but didn't pick a fight in order to keep Kari happy. In fact, she was quite content just to have a Wizardmon with his restored memories beside her.

"Hey…Kari," he began to her with his eyes closed.

"Yeah?" she asked quietly, happy that her brother was talking to her. He peaked an eye open and turned it towards her, "I should probably have asked…way back…if things were to go back to how they could've been. Look, I'm not good at talking about stuff like this. What I'm trying to ask is…um…if I were to become human…to be your brother, that would mean we'd live together, right?"

"It might be weird for mom and dad," Kari answered quietly, realizing that she had no idea how either of them would react to Tai suddenly moving in with them after believing he was dead for so long, "But I think they'd be able to come around to the idea of you being there again."

Gatomon sprang up right away, "Wait, are you actually talking about living with Kari's family? Because I am not going to sit for having to share a living space with you."

"It's not your house, is it?" Tamer asked back quietly, "You do live in a house right? No wait, last I checked it was an apartment. No wait, I blew that up. Did I apologize for that?"

"We moved in with dad," Kari explained to Tamer, "After everything that happened, mom and dad talked. They made up and dad really seemed sorry about everything. Mom still has to work part time though so that we can afford to live in our home."

"Oh, well that's good," Tamer answered quietly, "Your mom…I mean, mom didn't say anything about it did she? The last thing I want is dad to know what I did."

"You're calling them mom and dad," Kari noticed.

"Is that weird?" Tamer asked. She shook her head and he breathed a sigh, "Good, because it sure is weird for me."

Wizardmon perked up to finally speak, "It is odd, Tamer, to hear you referring to someone who is younger that yourself as a parent."

In fact, she was even happier to see him calling their parents by those names. It meant that he was coming around - even if it was slowly. She was sure they'd be happy to be called those names for the first time in a long time. It was all so perfect. The only thing that ruined it was the sudden screaming that came from nowhere. Without a word of warning, Davis suddenly fell onto the ground in front of her with Veemon landing on his gut. Davis smiled for a half a second, but the smile turned into shock and he rolled out of the way in time for TK to land where he had been a second before with Patamon on his head, "What the!? What are you guys doing here?"

"More importantly, where did you all come from? We all saw you go off to give those kids a tour!" Gatomon explained before turning on Tamer, "Hey, you didn't have anything to do with this, did you?"

"I'm just as surprised," Tamer threw up his hands defensively.

"Perhaps it was some kind of new magic!" Wizardmon postulated, "Please tell me the spell you used for that. I would love to add to my repertoire!"

TK scratched his head as he collected himself off the ground and asked, "Is this another one of those illusions you were talking about Davis?"

Patamon looked around curiously, "It looks like the DigiWorld. Davis, this is what you said happened to you, right?"

"Yep," Davis dusted himself off and offered a hand to Kari, "Hey Kari, it's good to see you're okay."

Before Kari could think to take his hand, Tamer swatted it away violently and pointed his digivice at them, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Saving Kari, dude," Davis answered, swatting Tamer's hand and digivice aside, "What do you think you're doing?"

Kari didn't want a fight to break out between anyone and rushed between them as her brother explained, "You don't belong in this world! This world already has a Davis, Veemon, TK, and Patamon! Go back to yours!"

She turned to Davis in confusion, "Is that true Davis? You're from another world? I mean…another Real World?"

"Of course not Kari," TK explained, "This is all a dream! A trick by Myotismon. Davis was able to snap me out of my fake dream."

"Fake dream? We beat Myotismon!" Kari pointed out, recalling how Tai trapped him outside reality in the space between worlds. Davis sighed, "Look, the trick is to look for anything weird or something that doesn't match up. Anything that hasn't made sense. That's how you can tell it's an illusion."

Gatomon rolled her eyes, "We're with The Digimon Tamer! Nothing ever makes sense when he's around!"

Veemon added, "Davish shaysh it'sh ushually shomething shmall. Shomething that you want but doeshn't sheem right. Like with Davish, it wash having you on kissh him. And with TK, it wash sheeing hish parentsh together again."

"Veemon!" Davis gasped out in embarrassment as his face went bright red, burying his knuckles into his partner's head to shut him up. Veemon massaged his poor head, "What? Oh, sorry."

Kari looked from Davis, to TK, then to her brother standing there with his digivice still pointed at them. Then she looked to her partner, "What do you think Gatomon?"

Her partner narrowed her eyes as she began circling Tamer, "It'd be hard to tell if this Tamer is a fake. He always acts weird and it's not like he's always honest."

Kari's eyes rested on Tamer. This was her brother. There was no way he could be fake. But Davis was right. Something about this didn't feel real - but she'd been too happy to see her brother again to notice. Wizardmon placed a hand on her shoulder to get her attention, "Excuse me, Kari. I don't mean to pry...but how would anyone be able to tell if they're real or not? Perhaps they're the illusions sent by Myotismon to distract us."

"Oh, come on man," Davis threw up how hands in frustration. Kari felt her eyes narrow on Wizardmon's suggestion. Now that she was thinking about it, he'd been awfully chummy with Gatomon when he shouldn't ever remember her, "Wizardmon, how long have you had your memories back?"

"My memories? Since before Tamer pulled you out of the void," Wizardmon answered quietly. Kari raised an eyebrow, "But how much longer will your memories last? I mean, last time it only lasted a few minutes."

Wizardmon sighed, his shoulders slumping and he answered, "Why couldn't you just accept the dream you were given?"

Now all eyes were on Wizardmon as the digimon stepped away from their group. Tamer stepped forward and asked, "Wizardmon. What are you talking about?"

"This," Wizardmon snapped his fingers and the world decayed slowly around them. Leaves dried up and turned to mulch, trees died and rotted away, and Tamer began to age rapidly until he turned into a rotted corpse. Kari reached out to help him, but he turned to dust the moment she even touched him. Kari gasped in shock, sinking to her knees in despair while Gatomon asked, "Wizardmon! What are you doing!?"

"You've rejected the dream. Now live the nightmare," Wizardmon tipped his hat and bowed, before vanishing.

The digital world faded into darkness, fading back to a dusty old apartment - one Kari immediately shared. Beside it was a desk their parents bought for them to use when they were old enough to attend school. Then she heard a faint shuffling behind her, just outside the bedroom door.

The door was a lot larger than she remembered, and it opened to reveal her mother dressed in a dark funeral dress. She was taller, younger, and more distressed, "Kari. It's time to go."

"Mommy?" she asked in disbelief, her mother slowly picking her up, "We don't want to be late. The service is in a half hour. It'll be the last time we say...good bye. To your brother."

"Mommy? No! Mommy, Tai's alive!" Kari tried to explain. Then Davis stepped in, much taller than he was a moment ago, "Hey! Back off Mrs. Kamiya!"

He tried to grab Kari but his hands passed right though them, like he was a ghost. Kari tried to explain again, "Mommy! Tai's not dead!"

"Kari, I know it's been difficult. But it's time to say good bye," her mother reasoned. She could hear Gatomon shouting, but she sounded so far away, "Kari! This isn't real! Snap out of it!"

"Let's go Kari," her mom said again, starting to head out the door. This was wrong. This was all wrong. Tai wasn't dead. He wasn't! Why wouldn't her own mother believe her? Whatever happened back then - when Parrotmon and Greymon attacked wasn't a dream! It was real! All of it was real!

"Kari! It's not real!" Her partner's and friends' voices continued to echo in the back of her mind. That's right, it wasn't real. She was just a little kid. What did she know?

"Snap out of it!"

Snap out of what?

"Don't listen to her, Kari!"

"Tamer is still alive! We can't let it end here!"

Kari shook her head in a daze. That was right. They still had to defeat Myotismon. She pushed her mother away, struggling against her as she shouted, "Mom! Let go of me!"

She finally pushed her mother away and was found standing a few feet away from her. She was smaller now, about the size Kari remembered her mother being, "Mom. Tai's alive. And after all this is done, I am going to find him."

Her mother frowned, "Kari. Sweetie. He isn't coming back."

"I'll bring him back," Kari answered, "Kicking and screaming, I'll bring him back."

Kari's mother stepped away from her in disbelief, shaking her head disappointedly, "I just don't understand Kari…why are you being so difficult?"

"I'm not being difficult mom," Kari answered, "This…none of this is real."

Kari's mother stared at her daughter silently, "Kari…this is real. You need to accept what happened."

Kari tightened her hands into fists and explained, "I did accept what happened mom. But I don't have let it control me. What happened was in the past…and it's time to move on."

As soon as she said those words, her mother disappeared. Their old apartment vanished too, replaced only with a blank empty void. TK was the first one to speak, "Are you okay Kari?"

Kari nodded, still processing what happened, "Y-yeah. I just need a minute."

Davis frowned, "That…was rough Kari."

"How did you guys get here anyway?" Gatomon asked curiously. Davis and TK both produced their digivices while Veemon explained, "Davish ushed hish digivice when you were killed in hish nightmare and we got ganged up on. That'sh how we got to TK'sh dream. And how we got here after Devimon shtarted killing people there."

"But how did you know it was a fake?" Kari asked Davis seriously, while gesturing to the world around them, "I mean this was…everything I ever wanted. How could you see through that?"

Davis stammered as he realized where this conversation was going and wasn't sure how to explain it to her with TK around. In fact, it helped last time since Gatomon was only half paying attention and Veemon was distracted with something else. After he realized he was taking too long, he blurted out, "Because in that world…you never let go of me. I mean…it's what I wanted. But you said you didn't see me that way. And that you weren't interested in that sort of thing. So…the fact that you suddenly were was weird. Then Tamer showed up and you completely ignored him. You didn't even go running to him! That was how I put it all together."

Gatomon nodded approvingly, "You're…a lot smarter than I gave you credit for. But what do we do now? The others still need to be saved!"

TK proposed, "I say we split up and go help them. I don't know what Myotismon is doing outside this place but the sooner we wake ourselves up, the better."

Patamon raised a question, "Yeah, about that. Why aren't we awake yet? More importantly, how are we jumping into each other's dreams?"

"Maybe it's because we're outside reality?" TK proposed quietly, "It'd make just about as much sense as everything else that happened? Are we really going to worry about that anyway?"

Veemon nodded, "That'sh right. Let'sh go shave our friendsh!"

Davis held up his digivice and pointed ahead, "Let's go! Digiport Open!"

* * *

Ken and Yolei stepped back out into the Real World hand in hand, just as Myotismon was finally defeated by the other digidestined's partners. They were back in Highton View Terrace just as the first few fireworks of the New Year were fired in to the sky. Yolei bemoaned, "Oh man, we missed it! I love the New Year's countdown!"

They were so distracted by the fireworks, that neither of them noticed their parents running up to hug them, "KEN!"

"YOLEI!"

Both kids were taken aback by the sudden arrival of their parents. Then Yolei's sister noticed something, "HOLD ON! ARE YOU HOLDING KEN'S HAND!?"

Ken tightened his grip on Yolei, not in anger - it was more reassuring while the girl went red in the face, "Y-yeah."

Her sister's face lit up, "Oh my gosh!"

Before she could get another word in, Ken pulled Yolei away into the crowd of parents who were now swarming their digidestined in children. Only Wormmon dared to follow them but he remained quiet out of respect for their privacy, even going so far as to cover his eyes. Yolei looked at him in surprise, "Ken, where are we going?"

"You looked flustered," he explained, uncertain of himself, "I thought…you might want to be somewhere else. Somewhere not around your sister at the moment."

"Oh…thanks," Yolei nodded, her face turning a bright shade of red. Ken was familiar with this reaction - all of his fan girls behaved like this but this was different. He found his face flushing too and his heart beating faster. Was he embarrassed? He covered his face in surprise as he realized he was. Then Yolei ran into hug him.

His heart raced faster as he felt her warm embrace. Then something else - she began leaning in with her lip puckered together. He knew what he had to do now, what he wanted to do. But something held him back from doing so - then a bright light appeared beside them that ruined what would've otherwise been a good moment for Ken. He turned his head to the side to see what caused the intrusion - Davis and Veemon. Ken did a double take while Yolei groaned, "Dammit Davis, you have the worst timing!"

"It was a little rude," Wormmon finally spoke up. "Yolei! Yolei, listen to me! None of this is real!" Davis tried explaining to her, "It's an illusion! A trick by Myotismon!"

A trick? By Myotismon. Ken racked his brain to think about when that would've happened. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks - something had been weird about all this since it ended but to see it be revealed like this was not what he was expecting. Yolei snapped in frustration, "Davis, what are you talking about?"

"Mental Illusion," Ken repeated quietly to himself. Davis turned to look at him and so did Veemon, "Did we get it wrong, Davish?"

Davis scratched his head, "That can't be right. I mean, she was about to kiss Ken. This has to be Yolei's dream! Who else would it be?"

Yolei groaned and put her hands on her hips as she readied to scold Davis, "I have no idea what you're talking about Davis! Get out of here! You're totally ruining the mood!"

Ken shook his head, "No, he's not. He's right. Something about this seemed off. I mean…Yolei, you're forward to a fault and sometimes act on your emotions. But you've never done something like this."

"Huh, I guess it is Ken's dream," Davis folded his arms in surprise as he watched Ken turn on Yolei. He placed both his hands on the girl and explained, "Yolei…I…I'm not good with these kind of things…so…you're a nice person and…what I'm trying to say is you're not the real Yolei. I'm sorry. Go away."

Yolei stood there with her mouth hanging open, stepping away from Ken. At first her expression was one of shock and despair - then it turned into anger, "Why couldn't you just accept what was in front of you? Fine…forget the dream. If you don't want a life time of joy, then accept a life time of your greatest nightmares made real!"

She vanished as she spoke those words, and foot steps echoed from behind them. They all spun on their heels together at the same time to face the new enemy. They were not prepared to face the Digimon Emperor - adorned in his blue robes, his goggles, and his messy hair. The boy scoffed at Ken, "Look at you. You've become so pathetic. To think I would degrade myself to being a slave of destiny who works for Digimon Tamer."

"Now that's a trip," Davis raised an eyebrow, "I mean…just wow."

The Emperor jeered, "And you have the idiot with you. How low have you sunk?"

"I haven't sunk!" Ken shouted back at the Emperor, "I realized what I was doing was wrong!"

"He's making up for it," Wormmon countered

"Wrong? What about it was wrong!?" the Emperor snapped back, beginning to pace around them, "Your brother is dead because of him! Ryo is lost forever! Thousands more have perished. He calls it destiny but the truth is it's all chaos! And by standing with the digidestined, you're standing with him! Are you sure what you're doing now isn't wrong?"

Ken frowned, "Well, I'm not kidnapping and enslaving digimon anymore. So that's a good sign that I'm not the bad guy anymore. And I'm definitely not using evil digimon on my side any more."

The Emperor mocked him, "You're right! It's better to let that lawless waste run rampant. It's not like another digimon invasion happened shortly after you started working with the digidestined. Oh wait! That's right, it did happen!"

"That was unrelated!" Ken countered quickly, only to be snapped at by his old self, "Wasn't it? Would any of the things that happened after you joined the digidestined have happened under your watch as Emperor? Would BlackWarGreymon ravage the Digital World? Would the boundary between worlds falter? How many more digimon and human lives ended because you walked away?"

"And what good came from being you?" Ken countered angrily, quickly losing patience with his other self, "All the digimon enslaved and killed? The monster we made with Ancient technology. The horrible machines we used. Not to mention the part where Same died again! Was any of that worth it?"

The Emperor began cackling to himself, "You're still not getting it, are you? This was always about preventing any more damage that the Digimon Tamer would allow to happen. He could've done something and he never did! That's what we were trying to fix! Are you really suggesting it would've been better to do nothing about it? To let it all happen!?"

Ken shook with a mix of anger and fear of himself. And yet, there was a dread of this other Emperor that left him uneasy. Then he watched as this other self took off his goggles to reveal that it was not himself he was speaking to but his older brother - Sam. His older brother pleaded, "Kenny, you could've saved me. You could've changed so much. Why are you being like this?"

The sight of his brother shook Ken - Sam was dead. So why was he here? He was at a complete loss for words as his partner asked, "Isn't that your older brother? How is he here?"

"I don't know," Ken shook in disbelief. Davis scratched his head, "Aw geez, Ken. We should...get out of here."

"Not yet. This is my mistake and I need to fix it," Ken shook angrily, stopping only to consider what he should say, "Sam, I'm sorry I couldn't save you. It's my fault that you died twice. Everything I've ever done has been to try and right a wrong from my past. But I can't keep being tied down by it. I can't let it...control me. Please, forgive me."

"No, Ken. I won't," Sam replied quickly, "You have to live with the horrible things you did. But more than that you have to live with the fact that mom and dad wished I had been the one who lived, not you. But there's one thing you can do to make it right and that's to finish what you started."

Ken closed his eyes, trying his best to restrain his guilt and his anguish over hearing his older brother say that. This wasn't true. None of this was true. But Ken couldn't bring himself to face his fake brother. It was just too painful. So he turned away from his brother and sheepishly answered, "I'm sorry Sam. Good bye."

Sam became all the more upset as Ken walked away, "Don't be stupid Kenny! If you don't finish what you started, you'll never be able to let go of your past! You'll be haunted by my memory forever!"

"Then I'll live with that. That'll be my punishment- to remind me that I have to be better," Ken said quietly. Sam was quiet after that and Ken looked back once only to find his brother was gone. He sighed, trying to stifle a sniff before turning towards Davis, "Thanks for waiting."

"Don't mention it," Davis put his arms to his side, looking pleased with himself. Ken shook his head in amusement than asked, "What are you doing here, anyway? How did you know this was all a dream?"

"It's a long story and I've already explained it twice. I'm tell you later. Now let's get out of here," Davis said, holding his digivice ahead of him and shouting, "Digiport Open!"

* * *

Yolei of all people did not expect to get a party when they all got back to the Real World, especially after they defeated MaloMyotismon. In her mind, it had been a team effort but the rest of the digidestined and their digimon assured her that his defeat had been because of her. Still, Yolei couldn't help but feel uneasy as everyone sat around in a local late night restaurant. It was a miracle that they managed to get a table to fit all of them together at such late notice but the owners had no problem with so many people as long as they could pay - something Joe's father was more than happy to accommodate.

Because of how large their group was, they ended up getting several tables pushed together and breaking up to sit with their respective families. To her utter delight, Ken chose to sit next to her at the table with their partners flanking either side of them. To her annoyance, her sister Chizuru was quick to notice, "You two are sitting awfully close, aren't you?"

She bit her tongue to stop herself from saying something she would regret but Ken answered, "I hope I'm not being impolite. I'm just…more comfortable around her."

Yolei could feel herself flushing from embarrassment when Ken said those words. And she could tell her sister was excited by it too when she leaned in to ask, "Ooh! Yolei, when did you get this close to Ken Ichijouji?"

She had no idea how to answer that since she had no idea Ken even felt comfortable around her. She always got the impression that she annoyed him. As she struggled to come up with an answer to her sister's question, she felt something grab her hand under the table and realized it was Ken. He seemed just as uneasy and nervous, and she could see his face lighting up a bright red. There was no doubt about it now in her mind. Ken liked her back. Then she heard Hawkmon mumble something about being worse than Davis and Kari. She couldn't help but throw a look their way to see Davis actually sitting with Matt and Sora at the opposite end of the table - chatting animatedly. It was odd, since he didn't usually talk to either of them. So what was he doing there? Kari on the other hand was sitting between her parents and seemed completely oblivious to Davis' absence. Instead, she talked to her partner and kept pointing at TK.

Before she could say anything about it, a commotion at the restaurant entrance caught her attention. And she blinked when she saw another Kari and Gatomon standing at the restaurant entrance trying to get in. They seemed frantic and nervous, arguing with the hostess who tried to explain that the restaurant was full. Yolei blinked to make sure her eyes weren't fooling her then back to the first Kari who seemed to have missed the presence of her doppelgänger. Yolei nudged her partner, "Hey, Hawkmon. Do you see that?"

"I do, and I have never been more confused," Hawkmon answered with a tilted head. The second Kari pushed past the hostess and into the dining room. Her appearance took everyone off guard, especially the first Kari who stood up right away, "Who are you? Why do you like me?"

"Does this have anything to do with Tamer?" the first Gatomon sighed. The second Gatomon pointed at her accusingly, "Shut your trap you Myotismon knock off!"

"Myotismon!?" the first Gatomon took offense, leaping up with her claws out.

"Stop it! Don't fight!" both Karis pleaded with their partners at the same time. Both girls noticed this and said, "Jinx, you owe me a soda. Double jinx, you owe me two sodas!"

Both giggled at the double jinx, until TK finally stood up, "Okay, so are either of you going to explain what's going on?"

The second Kari nodded, "You're...well, one of you is trapped in an illusion made by Myotismon. I already know it's not me, Davis, or TK."

"What are you talking about...other me," the first Kari asked, pausing as she realized just how absurd her words were. She shook her head and demanded, "How can this be an illusion? Yolei beat Myotismon!"

"Yeah! Are you saying we didn't really beat him!?" the first Gatomon said with an accusatory tone. the second Kari shifted her gaze to Yolei and ran to her, "This has to be your illusion, Yolei! Listen, none of this is real!"

"My illusion?" Yolei repeated quietly, completely lost on everything that was going on, "What do you mean my illusion? How can this be my illusion? If this is an illusion, shouldn't this all be an illusion? How do I know you're not the illusion?"

Kari sighed, "It's a long story. Davis was the first one to figure it out. The fastest way to tell if this is fake is to look for something that doesn't add up - it can be something small, but that's all it takes. Something that seems normal at first but the more you think about it, the weirder it gets. There has to have been something you've seen like that."

"You're taking advice from Davis?" Yolei asked skeptically, becoming more uncertain with every word coming out of this second Kari's mouth. Her mouth hung open as something seemed to click in her head before explaining, "He is...more observant that you think. Look, I know it sounds crazy but there has to be something off about this illusion that you've noticed."

Yolei blinked, "You mean besides the second you running in here? You still haven't said how you knew this was my illusion."

Kari groaned and gestured beside her, "Ken's sitting next to you and he's blushing. I'm not normally the one who can pick up on this kind of stuff. Heck, I didn't even know that Davis knew that I only...look I don't want to talk about it. But I know it now because he told me. Where was I going with this?"

"You're just like Tamer," both Gatomons said in unison while the second Kari continued, "Look, the point I'm trying to make is that it's obvious you like Ken but I don't think Ken has done much to show you how that he cares about you as more than a friend. So why is he suddenly acting the way you do around him?"

"I'm just...flustered," Ken said in his defense. As much as Yolei wanted to ignore the second Kari, there was something nagging her in the back of her mind, "Davis hasn't said a word to you since we got back."

"Huh?" the second Kari asked. Hawkmon choked on his water, "Yolei, you're not actually believing a word they're saying are you?"

Yolei shook her head, "I'm not saying I believe them. I am saying that it bugs me that Davis hasn't said a word to you since we got back. He didn't even sit at the same part of the table as you. He's sitting over there with Matt and Sora. And that confuses me."

"Is it that weird?" Davis asked anxiously, looking at Matt and Sora who were just as lost. The second Kari chimed in, "It is a little bit. I mean, normally you do whatever you can to make sure you're right next to me. Even at lunch and in class."

"Davish jusht wanted to get relationship advice from them. That'sh all," Veemon tried to explain. Yolei scratched her head at that, "What do you mean relationship advice? He's not in a relationship. He's trying to get a date with Kari. Their situation's not the same since Sora didn't avoid Matt because she's convinced he's her brother. I'm just stating the obvious. Besides, Davis isn't the kind of guy to ask for advice with things. He's more the kinda guy who runs head first into a problem and always manages to get out unharmed."

She paused to think about it, "Meanwhile, I'm the one who's constantly making mistakes like getting Musyamon killed or almost letting an entire village drown because I couldn't figure out that Golemon was a fake until it was almost too late."

"Hey, Yolei, don't get down on yourself," Kari tried to explain, "We're not even in the second illusion yet!"

"Second illusion?" Hawkmon asked. Gatomon explained, "Yeah, it's dumb: Myotismon put the first illusion inside another illusion. The first illusion is your dream, everything you've ever wanted coming true. But if you can see through it, you land in the second illusion where you live your worst fear. Kari's fear was having to go through her brother dying again."

"But this isn't my worst fear," Yolei countered happily, looking at Ken sitting at her side with a bashful smile at this party in her honor for defeating Myotismon, "This is everything I've ever wanted."

"Which is exactly what the first illusion is supposed to be," the second Kari pointed out. As much as Yolei wanted to ignore it, she couldn't. The doubt was there now in the back of her mind, eating at away at her. The first Kari sighed, "You just couldn't leave it be. She was happy!"

She turned on Yolei, "You were happy. But fine, deny the dream. Give it up. I just hope you're happy with your nightmare. This part my sucks. I'm leaving."

Yolei was stunned by that as the first Kari started to leave. Then the first Gatomon. Then Matt and Sora followed suit. Before Yolei could even ask what was going on, she witnessed Ken stand up from her chair without a word. On instinct, Yolei reached out to grab his hand, "Ken, where are you going?"

Ken answered without looking back, "Kari's right. This sucks. You suck."

"Ken-"

"We're throwing this in your honor because you beat Myotismon but anyone could've done that," Ken added, "To be honest, that's more a miracle than you realize since you're the girl who couldn't save Musyamon. A digimon is dead because of you."

"I didn't kill him!" Yolei argued but Ken retorted, "But you didn't save him either. I'll see you around Yolei. Or not. Whatever. Come on Wormmon."

"Okay, Ken," Wormmon bounced off the table and waddled after Ken as the two made their way to the exit. Yolei was about to call out after him but the second Kari held her, "Yolei, he's not real."

"But...wait, was I just dumped by a guy who doesn't exist?" Yolei mulled the idea over. Then Ken added, "Dumped? We weren't even dating. Look, Yolei. You're nice, but you're just not my kind of girl."

"What?" Yolei stuttered. Kari pulled on her hand to get her attention, "Yolei, focus. This is the second illusion. Your worst fear. Although, this isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I mean...I had to deal with Tai's funeral again. At least you don't-"

She was cut short when a loud stomp shook the ground. Then the roof of the small restaurant came clean off and a Tyrannomon appeared over head. Before anyone could say anything, Tyrannomon's massive claw came crashing down and flattened Ken in front of her. Yolei shrieked in horror as she watched Ken go limp in front of her, soaking in a growing pool of his own blood. Then the Tyrannomon turned on Yolei, "I never got to taste you, did I?"

"Yolei, this isn't real!" Kari tried to explain her while Hawkmon asked, "Yolei, who is that?"

"It's the Tyrannomon that tried to eat me...back when I was a little girl," Yolei managed, frozen in place by terror and shock.

"Yolei, I need to digivolve," Hawkmon explained, but Yolei couldn't find the will to move. She could still remember that day clear in her mind. The heat from Tyrannomon's mouth - the smell of the burnt bodies. Kari tried to pull her away but she was too frozen by fear. Kari exclaimed, "Yolei, this isn't real. It's an illusion that Myotismon made to scare you!"

Yolei couldn't hear her though. All she could focus on was Ken's dead body lying in front of her - another person she wasn't able to save. Another person had died because of her. She was so lost in thought, that she didn't even realize Tyrannomon was holding her until she was well off the ground. The dinosaur was a lot larger than she had first thought, its maw big enough to swallow a car. In her panic, she dropped her digivice and watched it fall straight to the floor where the second Kari caught it, "YOLEI!"

"Feather Strike!" Hawkmon reached for the feather on his head and threw it at Tyrannomon's claw. The large digimon winced in pain and dropped Yolei, screaming as she started falling towards the ground which was a lot further down than she remembered. Just as she was certain she was going to die, she felt Hawkmon's talons grab hold of her while he flapped his wings as hard as he could to keep her aloft, "Yolei! I know you're scared but now isn't the time to lose yourself to fear."

"But I'm useless," Yolei murmured as Hawkmon gently lowered her, "Ken's right. I couldn't Musyamon. I couldn't even save him. What good am I?"

She was snapped out of these thoughts when she felt a harsh sting across her face. She looked over to see Kari, her face torn between a mix of anger and compassion, "We've taken on a lot worse than a Tyrannomon. SkullGreymon. Kimeramon. BlackWarGreymon. Dragomon. So what's one Tyrannomon? Yolei, we've got this. You've got this."

Yolei blinked a few times, recalling how they'd defeated each of the digimon listed. This was just like the Dark Ocean with Kari all over again. She shook her head, trying to regain her senses and nodded, "Yeah, you're right Kari."

Kari placed her digivice back into her hand, "Now go show that 'mon who's the boss!"

Yolei nodded, turning to her partner who crossed his wings, "It's good to see you out of your stupor, Yolei."

"Let's get 'em," Yolei held her digivice forward, letting the light flow out of it into Hawkmon, "Hawkmon! Digivolve to! Aquilamon!"

Tyrannomon seemed a lot smaller now that Aquilamon was on the scene, using his claws to scratched at the dinosaur's rough hide and ramming into it with his horns when he could. The digimon flailed and moved about angrily, trying to swat at Aquilamon and occasionally shooting balls of fire at him to no avail. Then Aquilamon moved in for his final blow, "BLAST RINGS!"

The hit struck Tyrannomon square in the chest and he toppled over, crashing onto the ground before dissipating into data. Yolei shook for a moment - taken aback by seeing the monster that had nearly killed her go down so easily. It was unreal. Like a dream. No, this was the dream. None of this was real. Once she'd composed herself, she turned to face Kari, "Okay, so what do we do now?"

"This," Kari raised up her digivice and pointed it just ahead of them, "DIGIPORT OPEN!"

* * *

It was like a dream come true. The moment they defeated MaloMyotismon, everyone who had died years ago because of him suddenly appeared - including Cody's father and Ken's older brother. Once again, Sam didn't recognize Ken at first, but was more receptive to the idea that time had passed. For Cody, being congratulated and thanked by his father was the greatest thing he could have wished for. Although he tried to maintain his composure, Cody ended up crying into his father's chest - unable to put his happiness into words. Instead he just kept hugging his dad. When the two of them finally broke away from each other, his father congratulated him, "Thank you Cody. We're free because of you. I'm so proud of you."

Cody felt his heart skip a beat from the praise, but tried to remain relaxed, "Now we just have to get out of here."

As if the universe was answering him, a flash of light blinded them all. From the light appeared two figures - TK and Patamon. A second TK and Patamon. Cody rubbed his eyes, certain that the light had just made him see double. But then the second TK and Patamon began speaking to the first TK and Patamon, "Gee, Patamon. These illusions are really convincing. But whose illusion do you think we're in?"

"Well, there's Ken and his brother. Maybe it's his?" the second Patamon pointed at Sam. Both Ken and Sam stood with their mouths hanging wide open. It didn't take long for Ken to confront the second TK, "Who or what are you? Is this a trick? Is The Digimon Tamer pulling another one of his stunts?"

"Sorry, but no," TK shook his head, "Fact of the matter is I'm real. But this place isn't Ken."

"Not real? What are you talking about?" Ken cocked his head to the side and folded his arms skeptically. TK went on, "Yeah, look, I know this seems weird. Don't you remember what…MaloMyotismon…said…oh, no."

The second TK paused as he saw Cody, his smile turning into a frown as he pointed them out for Patamon, "I was wrong. This isn't Ken's illusion."

"What makes you say that?" Patamon asked as he followed TK's finger, "Oh."

Cody's father stood between them as both TK and Patamon made their way over, "What's going on here? Who are you?"

TK stared back at his father solemnly. Cody could tell there was deep contemplation going on inside TK's mind - he was uncertain of how to respond. Regardless, TK bowed towards the older man, "It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Hida, sir. Your son Cody is a good kid."

"Oh," his dad paused, taken aback by the politeness in TK's voice but still keeping Cody behind him. Cody didn't want to defy his father so soon after getting him back but he had to ask TK anyway, "TK, what's going on. Why are there two of you?"

TK looked at Cody's father quietly, still frowning, "Cody…you're not going to like this. This isn't real. None of this is. We're stuck in an illusion MaloMyotismon created. I'm only here because Davis was able to snap me out of mine. And I'm here to help snap you out of yours."

Cody shook his head disbelievingly, "What are you talking about TK? This is real! All of it! We beat Myotismon. We freed my dad! How can any of this be fake?"

TK's frown deepened, "I know how it sounds Cody, but this isn't real. Davis figured it out first. The trick is to find something that doesn't add up. It can be small, or it can be big. No matter what, it has to be something that doesn't make sense."

Cody looked around at the void around him. Everything he'd seen so far made sense to him. At least, nothing he was looking at seemed out of the ordinary. Then Armadillomon made a comment he wished he didn't hear, "I was thinkin' it was odd that all these dead people came back. And that Ken's brother was okay with him this time when he wasn't okay with him last time. I mean, he did go and get himself killed if I remember right. He even argued with Ken last time."

"Armadillomon!" Cody scolded his partner, who could only offer in his defense, "I'm just sayin' Cody. I mean, think about it. Last time, Ken's older brother didn't even believe it was him he was talkin' to and he walked away mid sentence, straight into that laser that turned him to dust. So how could Sam be okay with it now?"

"I...don't know," Cody shook his head, looking at his dad desperately. That was odd, but that didn't mean that his father wasn't real. His father was alive. They'd saved him. Cody countered, "I do know that I don't want to lose my dad again."

"Cody," his dad began, leaning down to look him in the eye. Cody hated when his father did this, because it meant he was about to get a lecture or lesson of some kind - and the lesson was never something Cody wanted to hear, "I...don't want to die again. But if your friend is speaking the truth, you can't let your feelings get in the way of doing what's right. If...if this is an illusion, then you will need to let me go. It will hurt, losing someone always does. But I wouldn't be able to stand the idea of you being hurt because you couldn't let go of me."

"I can't let you go, dad," Cody explained, "I...don't want you to die again. I can't stand it."

Then Armadillomon's words struck him, "Cody, this is just like Ken and his brother."

Cody paused, looking Ken's way and seeing him standing there next to his brother. Cody trembled at the idea - finally now understanding why Ken had done what he did after all this time. He hadn't killed any digimon or enslaved them, but he'd be dooming them to that if he chose to have his father over anything else. Cody's father sensed his unease, "Be brave Cody. You can do this."

"Dad," Cody shook, knowing what he needed to do but too scared to do it. Unfortunately, it seemed this grand illusion would not wait on him to do it, as he heard Ken say, "You just couldn't do it, could you Cody? I made you this grand dream…and you're just throwing it away. Fine, live the nightmare you fear the most."

When Ken snapped his fingers, Cody watched his father turn to dust before him. Cody tried to grab hold of him, to keep some part of him a little longer only to watch the last grains of dust vanish. The little boy sank to his knees in terror, overwhelmed from losing his father again. It was too soon. How could he lose his father again? Then Ken cackled, "Do you see why I oppose the natural order of destiny and the reality the Digimon Tamer tries so hard to protect? Cody, we can bring your father back."

Cody looked up to see the Digimon Emperor standing before him with an outstretched hand, "The others wouldn't understand. That's why I spared you. If we work together, we can bring back your father. My brother. We can undo all the damage the Digimon Tamer allowed to happen. It doesn't matter how many lives we ruin, how many digimon pay the price. You will get your father back, I promise you that."

Cody felt his hand reaching out to the Emperor's, ready to accept his offer. He would do anything to get his father back. He could hear a voice telling him not to listen - to not do the terrible things he was thinking of doing. But how could he say no? He could have his father back, if only for a moment. He could get him back. All he had to do was take the Emperor's hand.

"Join me, Cody. Your father was an officer wasn't he? A man of the law? What is an emperor without his enforcer? Be my adjudicator, Cody. Together, we can rule the Digital World and bring order to this senseless waste."

Cody felt himself pulled back and realized TK was standing behind him with an angered expression on his face, "Back off, Emperor. Cody, this isn't right. You know that."

"That's right, partner," Armadillomon agreed, "This isn't what you're about Cody. I know you've bin' havin' yer doubts about Ken, but he wouldn't do anythin' like this and neither would you! Ken's on our side now. He wouldn't go back to this no matter what happened."

"Yeah, that's right," Patamon agreed, "Don't fall for this trick and don't listen to what this phony has to say!"

"Ignore the fools, Cody," the Emperor growled, "They could never understand us. What we've lost. The wrongs committed against us by fate. What we have to do to make things right."

Cody's lower lip trembled, as he was torn between two things. For so long he thought about the terrible things Ken had done, and how he never wanted to do it no matter what. But now, here he was. Ready to accept this invitation. He knew it was wrong to accept, but he wanted to so bad. He needed his father back. This decision was so hard but it didn't have to be. He could feel the tears welling up in his eyes, streaming down the side of his face. He didn't want to do what he was about to. BUt he knew he had to.

He slapped the Emperor's hand away, "Never. I…would never insult my father's memory like that."

"Then you're a fool," the Emperor frowned, producing his whip. He raised it up to strike but was stopped by Armadillomon rolling into a ball to sweep his feet out from under him, "Not if I have anythin' t'say about it!"

The Emperor got up, ready to fight back, "Fools, don't think you can get away from me!"

"Okay, TK! How do we get out of here?" Cody asked quickly. TK held out his digivice and smiled, "Follow me! Digiport OPEN!"

 


	51. The Prophecy Fulfilled, The Promise Kept

It should have ended then and there. It could have. All MaloMyotismon had to do was bring his massive claw straight down onto any one of the digidestined. But that's not how it played out. A split second before he would've killed the goggle wearing hero, ExVeemon grabbed hold of him and zipped out from under him. At that exact moment, the other digidestined heroes scattered in different directions. MaloMyotismon grit his teeth, "How!? You were trapped in an illusion within an illusion! How did you escape!?"

* * *

"You shouldn't have made Kari my girlfriend is how!" Davis spat back.

"Wait, is that what happened? How could you turn that down?" Yolei asked with wide eyed disbelief.

"Can we talk about this later?" Davis grumbled, switching his attention to Ken, "Ready partner?"

"Ready!" Ken raised his digivice. The others followed their lead, relieved to be free from MaloMyotismon's illusory control, and watched as their partners leapt ahead.

"ExVeemon! Stingmon! DNA Digivolve to! Paildramon!"

"Aquilamon! Gatomon! DNA Digivolve to! Silphymon!"

"Paildramon! Digivolve to! Imperialdramon!"

"Ankylomon! Angemon! DNA Digivolve to! Shakkoumon!"

"Imperialdramon! Mode Shift to! Imperialdramon Fighter Mode!"

MaloMyotismon braced himself just as Imperialdramon charged at him. They locked arms as the two tried to push each other back, leaving Silphymon free to run in from the side and roundhouse kick him from the back. MaloMyotismon was unsteadied, and that made it easier for Imperialdramon to lift him over head and throw him. That gave Shakkoumon an opening to catch him mid air and spin him around quickly.

At the peak of his spin, Shakkoumon released MaloMyotismon and sent him flying backwards through the air. Once he was a good distance away, Davis raised his digivice over head, "Alright y'guys! Now let's get out of here! DIGIPORT OPEN!"

A tear appeared ahead of them that led straight out into a barren plain. That was their destination - the Digital World. Davis looked back at the others and shouted, "Alright, let's get out of here!"

Oikawa and the kids he abducted were still. They made no attempt to run for the exit, like they wanted to stay. Kari asked, "Why aren't you guys moving? We have to get out of here!"

"Why? What's the point," one of the kids replied. Davis groaned, "What do you mean what's the point? We're trying to get away from the baddest digimon there ever was! That's the point! Now come on!"

Another began, "We don't deserve t-"

They were interrupted by TK suddenly picking two of the smallest one up. He started running for the tear, "We really don't have time to talk about this! Everyone run!"

Silphymon appeared beside some of the kids, gathering as many as she could in her arms before running towards the gate. This prompted the rest of them to follow suit, grabbing one of the kids and heading for the gate. Ken shouted, "Imperialdramon! Shakkoumon! Hold Myotismon back until we're through the gate!"

Imperialdramon and MaloMyotismon were locked again, pushing as hard as they could while refusing to surrender an inch. Through the fighting, Imperialdramon shouted, "We're working on it! _This guy is a lot stronger than he looks!"_

Shakkoumon took that moment to jump in and blast MaloMyotismon from behind, " _Then let us help!_ Justice Beam!"

The blast knocked MaloMyotismon to the ground, inches away from Oikawa who was still frozen in shock, "I did this. I helped this thing. This wasn't what I wanted! I couldn't have done this!"

MaloMyotismon growled as he pushed himself back up, "Are you still here, Oikawa? Hmph. You're nothing but a puppet that's outlived it's usefulness. Now die!"

Oikawa gasped as MaloMyotismon brought his claw down on him, certain he was going to die until Shakkoumon rammed him at full force, "Leave him alone!"

MaloMyotismon grit his teeth, "Why do you care about him? Don't you understand! HE BROUGHT ME BACK!"

He was answered by Imperialdramon sweeping his legs so that he landed face first on the ground, " _So what if he did?_ He only did it because you were using him! _So who's the real bad guy?_ It sounds like it's you!"

Oikawa stared up in disbelief to see the digimon partners of the children he'd been harassing coming to his rescue. Then he felt a tug on his shoulder, turning to see Cody trying to pull him on, "Come on Oikawa! We have to get out of here!"

"I…I can't," Oikawa answered meekly, still too frozen in terror by what he'd seen and what he'd personally had a hand in, "I don't deserve to be rescued. I caused this. Leave me Cody. Be better than I was. "

"Punish yourself later by trying to make up for it," Cody answered, wrapping both his arms around Oikawa to try and pull him towards the gate, "We have to get out of here while there's still time! Come on!"

Oikawa was taken aback by Cody's determination. After all he'd done, Cody seemed intent on helping him get to safety. It just didn't make sense, "Why?"

"Let's just say Myotismon's illusion gave me some perspective," Cody stated, "Now come on!"

Hearing Cody say those words brought him back to the old days - when he was just a child playing with his best friend Hiroki. In many ways, it seemed Cody had taken after his father. What would Hiroki, the real Hiroki, say if he were here to witness how pathetic and miserable he was? He'd probably slap him on the back and tell him to get up - that this wasn't the time to be lying around or be shown up. He felt a small smile draw itself on his face and Oikawa finally managed to push himself up, "You're right. Let's go."

He followed Cody and they rushed to retreat through the gate into the Digital World. The others were already on the other side waiting for them to catch up when Shakkoumon came flying from behind them, crashing through the gate and landing in the Digital World. Both Cody and Oikawa looked back to see Imperialdramon starting to lose ground to MaloMyotismon, but still fighting back with everything that he had. As Imperialdramon began to buckle, he shouted, "Guys! Run! _I can't hold him much longer!_ He's just too strong!"

"You heard him! Run!" Yolei shouted at them. It was now or never as Cody and Oikawa picked up the pace. They ran as fast as they could away from the two fighting digimon before Oikawa picked up Cody, "Sorry, but my legs are longer and I run faster!"

Cody didn't complain as Oikawa made his way through the gate, coming out onto a barren, empty flat desert land scape. In the distance, Cody could make out the vague outline of a control spire - one that they'd missed when they were tearing them down. And by the looks of it, it was around long enough to absorb all the life from this part of the Digital World. It was dark now. Or so it seemed until Cody looked up to see the Real World just over head. The sight of it brought back memories from years ago, "Why is the Real World in the sky again?"

"It must've been because of me," Oikawa shook as he saw it, "I forced open a gate to the Digital World. It was a brute force method, weakening the barrier between the worlds. It was like getting into a house by crashing a car through a wall."

Before Cody could take the time to scrutinize Oikawa's guilt, Imperialdramon came flying from behind them and crashed beside the rest of the digidestined. MaloMyotismon came running towards the gate, hoping to get through before it closed on him forever and left him stranded. Silphymon ran ahead, concentrating a ball of electricity in her hand while shouting, " _Why isn't this gate closing?_ We can't let him get back through! _STATIC FORCE!"_

The attack hit its mark but did little to actually slow MaloMyotismon down as he continued his rampage towards the gate. Silphymon readied more balls of electricity, firing them as quickly as she could produce them while shouting, "STATIC FORCE! _STATIC FORCE!_ "

Each strike hit MaloMyotismon in the chest but did little to actually slow him down as he continued charging forward towards them. In desperation, Silphymon positioned herself so that she was ready to hit back with her strongest kick just as MaloMyotismon managed to take his first step through the gate. With that first step, Silphymon spun in place and delivered a kick as strong as she could summon.

Then promptly bounced back towards the rest of the digidestined as MaloMyotismon continued unabated straight into the Digital World. He smiled triumphantly, "I'm so very disappointed in you Gatomon. Did you honestly think you could stop me? I fought the Ancients themselves and rendered worlds asunder! What could you possibly do against me that those before you couldn't?"

" _Well, for starters_ ," Silphymon chocked out, before running back at the mega, " _We've actually beaten you before._ "

MaloMyotismon growled, "I'm going to enjoy killing you, my little traitor. But first, there are other matters to attend to."

He threw Silphymon aside and stepped past the digidestined so that he was the center of the barren field that they'd landed in. He gestured around them, "Do you know what this is digidestined? This is the work of the control spires - absorbing the life energy of the Digital World to use as power. Power that only I may now wield!"

He threw up his hands, drawing in a dark miasma between that crawled from every direction possible. It wasn't hard to follow one of the trails back towards the control spire. TK called out to his partner, "Shakkoumon!"

" _I'm on it_!" the large digimon answered, tackling MaloMyotismon as hard as he could. Then he started slamming his arms into the mega before firing a blast of energy, "Justice Beam!'"

The blasts of red light bounced off MaloMyotismon - failing to hurt him any more than it had before. MaloMyotismon answered the attack by kicking Shakkoumon as hard as he could, throwing the digimon off and continuing to summon energy over his head. Watching Shakkoumon fail to hurt the mega at all didn't lend any confidence to the spore children, "It's hopeless."

"He's too strong now. Because of us."

"This is our fault."

TK heard their words and countered, "Guys, don't talk like that! This is what Myotismon feeds off of! You can't give in like this."

"What else can we do?" one of the kids asked, "It's not like we have digimon of our own that we can help out with."

"Digimon," Cody repeated quietly, looking from the children to Davis and then to MaloMyotismon, "Is that what it meant?"

"Cody, what are you thinking?" Yolei asked as he continued muttering. Cody produced his digivice and examined it carefully, turning it over in his hand. Without realizing, he spoke his thoughts aloud, "The prophecy thing said a million points of light, right? A million points of light in the dark. Our digivices hurt Dragomon back when he showed up at Christmas. What if…what if the digivices are the million points of light and we need to bring them all here?"

Davis rolled his eyes in disbelief, "Oh come on, Cody. Where are we going to get…a million…digivices…"

Davis paused as he seemed to finally catch onto what Cody was thinking. It was a stretch to say there were a million digidestined out there like themselves. But there was no denying that there was a lot of them. Maybe that was all it would take. Davis flipped his digivice in the air as he understood what had to be done and didn't hesitate to hold his digivice out, "It's never been a problem before. Digiport Open!"

A tear appeared in front of them - and through it they could make out the living room of an upper New York apartment. Mimi's apartment. Mimi and Palmon were sitting on their couch with Michael and Betamon; all four on the edge of their seats as the news played about the Digital World in the sky. Davis's jaw fell open as he pointed at them, "Mimi? What are you guys doing?"

She jumped up upon seeing them, "What are we doing? Why are you blocking the news? Wait, no! Never mind that! Are you guys in the Digital World, right now? Why is it in the sky? And how is...is that MYOTISMON!?"

"Uh...yeah," Davis nodded sheepishly upon seeing the fire in Mimi's eyes. She stood up from the couch and made her way through the portal, "Michael! Get the fireworks from my bedroom! All of them! Palmon, we have an ass to kick."

"I'm right behind you Mimi!" Palmon announced as she followed her partner through the gate. Davis stammered as he followed them back out, "What are you planning? Why do you need fireworks?"

Mimi scanned around the Digital World, her face contorted into anger, "You'll see. Can someone please take out that control spire?"

"Uh, yeah," TK answered, whistling to get Shakkoumon's attention, "Shakkoumon! Take out the control spire!"

"On it. JUSTICE BEAM!" the large mechanical doll fired at the control spire, cracking its surface until it shattered. Without a second's hesitation, Mimi raised up her digivice and Palmon began, "Palmon! Digivolve to! Togemon!"

Then a green light overtook her, "Togemon! Digivolve to! Lillymon!"

Lillymon took off to join Imperialdramon as he grappled with MaloMyotismon, shouting, "HEY! REMEMBER ME!?"

MaloMyotismon turned in time to see Lillymon sucker punch him in the face, spinning the mega in place and leaving him open for Silphymon and Shakkoumon to pin him down. At that moment, Michael and Betamon ran through the portal holding several large boxes, "Okay. What are you thinking Mimi?"

"Here's a better question: Why do you have that many fireworks!?" Davis gaped aloud as Michael dropped the box down and took out a large rocket. Mimi grabbed it from him and set it on the ground, aiming in straight at MaloMyotismon, "We live in America and it's New Year's. Where wasn't I going to find fireworks? HEY MYOTISMON!"

The large digimon turned in her direction, still in a stupor from Lillymon's sucker punch. Mimi lit the fuse on the rocket and smiled, "Let's see how _YOU_ like a _HOLE_ in your chest!"

MaloMyotismon looked down at the rocket planted firmly by her feet, but didn't seem to register what it was until after it took off his way. It struck him hard in the chest and exploded into a rainbow of light, before exploding again with a second set of lights. MaloMyotismon screamed in pain while Mimi cheered, "THAT WAS FOR MY MOM!"

"I guess that's one way to interpret a million points of lights," Silphymon commented, turning to the others, "What are you guys waiting for? Let's get the others out here! Heck, let's shoot more fireworks at him while we're at it!"

The digidestined quickly exchanged nods and held their digivices out, "DIGIPORT OPEN!"

Six more gates opened around them leading to Australia, France, Japan, Colorado, Mexico, and China. And through each, they saw someone's bedroom or living room - either digidestined or one of their family members. The first familiar face they saw was Willis running off his couch with Terriermon and Lopmon in tow, "What the hell? What are you guys doing in my living room?"

"Moumantai…but trouble didn't usually follow when you guys show up," Terriermon commented, "So what is this time?"

Davis answered nonchalantly, "World ending evil, trying to destroy the Digital World and the Real World. Wanna lend us a hand?"

"After you guys helped us out and saved my sister? Of course," Terriermon replied, "Right guys?"

"Let's go!" Willis said, following his two partners as they ran ahead. His digivice sang to life and his partners called out.

"Terriermon! Digivolve to! Gargomon!"

"Lopmon! Digivolve to! Wendigomon!"

The two digimon led the charge ahead just as the first the digidestined came through - Sora and Biyomon, Matt and Gabumon, Catherine and Floramon, Tina and Centarumon, Bella and Mikemon, the Poi brothers and their Syakomon."

"Is anyone going to tell us what's going on?" Tina asked. Her partner Centarumon answered, "It seems we are a part of another prophecy involving the digidestined and the fate of the Digital World. Which one is this? The dark one from before the beginning? The million points of light? No, wait. Is this the one about the traitor? I made a bet with Tamer a long time ago that it turns out it'll be one of the Royal Knights!"

Ken interrupted, "The million points of light one. We should ask you about the rest of those prophecies later on. It'd be useful to know what we're up against."

Just as the none Japanese speaking digidestined began to talk, Cody activated the translator on his digivice that let them all communicate in time for Catherine to ask, "Can anyone repeat what they're saying in French?"

"Why French? It sounds like we're all speaking pretty good Spanish to me," Bella replied, before pointing at Catherine, "You do have that weird accent? Wait, are you French? Your Spanish is amazing!"

"What are you all talking about? That's Cantonese!" the eldest Poi pointed out for them until Tina replied, "All I hear is Japanese. It's kinda weird but it works."

"What are you talking about?" Bella replied, until Cody whistled to get their attention. Then he explained, "Hey! It was me. I used my digivice to translate what you guys are saying. Now you all should understand each other."

"Our digivices let us all speak Japanese?" Tina looked down at hers, flipping it over curiously. This in turn led the others to look down at their digivices with the same confusion. Mikemon frowned, "That's a new twist. Although as long Bella doesn't start calling herself The Cat again."

"Wait, is that what The Cat meant?" Michael asked, only to pause, "Wait. I was trying to say The Cat. The Cat. Why can't I say The Cat?"

"The digivice is auto translating everything you say," Cody explained, "I guess forcing yourself to say something in another language still autotranslates. Can we focus? MaloMyotismon is trying to destroy the Digital World and Real World. We opened the gates because we needed help."

Matt ran a hand through his hair, "Guess that prophecy was true. Okay, let's go kick some butt Gabumon!"

"We'll go too, right Sora?" Biyomon cheered. Sora nodded and held out her digivice, "Let's go, Biyomon!"

"Biyomon! Digivolve to! Birdramon!"

"Gabumon! Warp Digivolve to! MetalGarurumon!"

"Birdramon! Digivolve to! Garudamon!"

"Mikemon! Digivolve to! Beastmon!"

"Floramon! Digivolve to! Kiwimon!"

"Syakomon! Digivolve to! Octomon!"

Together, they all ran ahead and TK shouted, "Come on! Let's get everyone else!"

More gates were opened into the Real World, allowing the digidestined to get help from the remaining digidestined. After a quick explanation to everyone they recruited, they soon had everyone they'd met during their international excursion present to help fight back the dangerous MaloMyotismon. From where they were standing, they could tell that the mega was being overwhelmed with the number of digimon slamming into him. This coupled with everyone grabbing a firework from Mimi's box helped to light up the darkened Digital World in brilliant light. And as they all helped, their digivices began to shine.

"Gargo Pellets!"

"Koko Crusher!"

"Wing Blade!"

"Flower Cannon"

"Static Force!"

"Justice Beam!"

"Solar Ray!"

"Witch Harp!"

"Spurting Ink!"

"Aerial Attack!"

"Positron Laser!"

"Ice Wolf Claw!"

"Horn Buster!"

"Vulcan's Hammer!"

The twinkle of light from their digivices. The shine from their digimon partner's attacks. The glow of a the fireworks as they exploded. Together, they illuminated the field against the dark miasma MaloMyotismon was trying to summon in his hands above his head. And as it grew, an overwhelming dread began to overtake them. It made them attack more, trying their hardest to stop him from doing whatever he was doing. Once the cloud of dark energy in his hands was large enough, Myotismon opened his mouth to inhale the entire miasma.

While he was distracted, Silphymon ran up to kick him in the face and bounced away harmlessly. Imperialdramon and MetalGarurumon combined their attacks - firing a blast of energy mixed with an array of missiles that erupted into a cloud of fire. Everyone was sure he was beaten until the mega charged out of the smoke to punch Imperialdramon in the face, then grabbed MetalGarurumon to throw him at Shakkoumon.

MaloMyotismon's voice boomed as he growled, "You fools, digidestined. Did you think you could actually do anything to harm me? I have the power of the control spires and the dark spores at my command!"

He roared again, opening his mouth to spew back out the black miasma, "SCREAMING DARKNESS!"

All the digimon retreated away from the fog as it spread - unwilling to get too close and find out what exactly would happen if they even let it touch them. This didn't deter Mimi and Michael from continuing to launch their fireworks into the miasma.

The two disappeared into the dark mist, illuminating MaloMyotismon's outline when it exploded. The mega level digimon roared and came charging out, "Why do you flee, digidestined? Weren't you going to stop me? Do your worst! FACE ME!"

"FLOWER CANNON!" Lillymon fired her cannon at MaloMyotismon - striking him in the chest ineffectually. MaloMyotismon cackled and made his way towards her, unharmed by her attack and dead set on his next target. Lillymon yelped and retreated away, covered by the combined attacks of Centarumon, Octomon, and Shakkoumon. MaloMyotismon charged past them, continuing after the small pixie while mocking, "Stop running from your fate and accept your death! You couldn't save your partner's mother. You cant even save yourself!"

He was stopped by another firework exploding at his feet. He followed its trajectory back to Mimi who snapped, "Don't you dare touch her!"

MaloMyotismon laughed, "And the human comes to the partner's rescue. Is she really so ineffective?"

"SHUT UP!" Mimi roared, firing another firework at MaloMyotismon's wounded chest. He screamed in pain, giving Lillymon and Mimi the chance they needed to run to safety. As she ran, Noriko moaned, "Why are you still trying to fight him? Don't you get it? You can't beat him. He absorbed BlackWarGreymon, Arukenimon, Mummymon…and he has the power from the control spires and our dark spores."

Annoyed, Davis argued back, "Stop talking like that! All those bad feelings of yours are what's feeding him!"

"What are we supposed to do?" Noriko moaned, "Believe that you guys can beat him? Yeah right."

"Why not? We got out of his nightmare," TK pointed out as he jumped into the conversation, "If we can beat him in a world where he wrote the rules, how could we lose in a world where he doesn't? We can beat him!"

"Then why haven't you?" Noriko asked simply. Both TK and Davis were at a loss about how to answer that question, looking back and beginning to contemplate how correct Noriko was. Before they could think of an answer to their statement, Ken joined them to say, "I understand how you guys feel. All of you. But the important thing is…not to give in to that overwhelming dread eating away at the back of your mind."

A boy in the background frowned, "Yeah right. Why should we listen to you?"

Ken frowned, "Because the dark spore that's infected all of you came from me, remember? Oikawa placed it there. Those negative feelings that you've been having…they're fueling MaloMyotismon. I can't…get it out of you. But I think you can use it to help us beat Myotismon."

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Noriko asked skeptically, "We don't even have digimon!"

"You don't need digimon," Ken answered.

"That's easy for you to say. You have a digimon partner," another one of the affected children groaned. Ken nodded his understanding but went on, "But that's the beauty of it! You don't need a digimon to hurt Myotismon. You just need to…"

He paused, realizing what he was doing. That wasn't what he wanted to do, "Look, I don't want to use you guys. Not the way I was used. That would make me worse than the things I was trying to stand against. But…the way to beating this is to not let that fear control you."

He paused when he saw the quizzical looks he was being give. He should've known it would t make sense at first. He went on, "What I did…made me a real piece of shit. Even if I was doing it with the best of intentions, that didn't justify any of it. But I didn't let that failing define me. Believe me, I wanted to give up and just let whatever happened happen. But I didn't."

"Then what did you do?" Noriko asked. Ken gestured to the rest of the digidestined, "I tried to be better. You guys can be too."

"And how do we do that?"

"Don't give up!" Davis answered for Ken, "Don't give up on everything you've ever wanted just because it seems like it's far away. Hell, I know it'll be an uphill battle to try and get a date with Kari but I'm not giving up!"

That bold faced declaration took only the children and the non Japanese digidestined off guard. For him to admit that was equal parts brave and embarassing. Not just for him but definitely for Kari as well. His declaration was undermined only by the fact that he added, "Then, we're gonna get married and open up a ramen shop!"

"Wait, ramen?" Ken repeated stupidly, "You want to open a ramen shop?"

"Or a bakery," he shrugged, "Both are good. I like good food, what can I say?"

"I wouldn't call ramen good food," TK frowned, leading Davis to turn on him, "Oh, and what's your big goal in life?"

TK put a hand to his chin and mulled it over, "Well, I was thinking about becoming a writer like my mom. You know, journalism or something like that. How about you Ken?"

Ken scratched his head, "I think I wanted to be a detective a long time ago. It's been so long since I thought about something other than trying to change destiny that I don't really remember."

"With how smart you are, you'd make a great one!" Davis nodded approvingly, before turning his attention to the spore children, "How about you guys? There has to have been something you wanted to be!"

"Well, I'd always wanted to be a preschool teacher," Noriko admitted sheepishly. Kari appeared at her side, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Me too. Either that or teach in elementary."

"I wanted to do comics," one boy said in the background.

"And I wanted to be a doctor," another added.

"I always wanted to be a baseball player."

"I thought it'd be cool to own a bakery. I love the smell of fresh bread."

Unbeknownst to the children, Myotismon began to cringe in pain as they each listed off what their dream in life was. And with each dream listed, Myotismon began to falter - making it easier for the partner digimon to fight him on more even footing. Garudamon and MegaKabuterimon took advantage of this to lift him into the air just to throw back into the ground. The mega digimon caught himself, trying to move to safety but feeling his body weaken with each moment. Then Zudomon jumped in to strike him with his hammer.

He screamed in agony while the other digimon fired away at him. Between the attacks, he saw the spore children regaining their hope and roared, "No. I will not be defeated by this pathetic fate. I WILL NOT DIE HERE!"

He charged at Davis, planning on snuffing out this small glimmer of hope and courage that he was helping foster. This boy…he broke them all out of his illusions and was now empowering the spore children. That had to end. This was not where he wanted to die. Just as he was about to stab the boy in the chest, Davis spun around. MaloMyotismon relished that look of fear on his face, and would have relished it more if he hadn't been pushed out of harm's way by Ken.

Silence fell, broken only by the crack and slick squelch of MaloMyotismon's claw passing through Ken. When MaloMyotismon's hand retreated from the boy's gut, Ken sank to his knees and collapsed. He gasped for breath, trying to keep himself upright but drowning in his own blood as it poured its way up his throat.

"NO!" Yolei shrieked in terror, finally breaking the silence as she ran to his side to make sure he was okay. The boy was just barely able to recognize her. The light in his eyes grew dimmer as his eyes went out of focus.

" _KEN!"_ Imperialdramon shouted. MaloMyotismon laughed, feeling the energy come running back as despair refilled the hearts of the spore children, "Do you see now? None can oppose me! Surrender digidestined!"

Digidestined and digimon alike kept their distance from MaloMyotismon - weary of making the next move as MaloMyotismon howled victoriously. That surge of power he felt was incomparable. Nothing could stop him now - none of these digidestined could! He would have enjoyed it more, if another flash of light didn't appear beside him. He turned his attention towards it and saw a tear in reality with two figures making their way out. The two he wanted to see more than anything now that he was unbeatable, "Digimon Tamer. WarGreymon. I was wondering when you two would grace us with your presence. But you're too late! Nothing can stop m-"

"SHUT UP! I'LL DEAL WITH YOU IN A MINUTE!" Tamer shouted at the top of his lungs so loud that MaloMyotismon was taken aback. He pointed a warning finger too, as if he were threatening the giant digimon before turning away with a big smile on his face towards the spore children. And his arrival returned that glimmer of hope MaloMyotismon had been trying to kill. Already, he could feel his powers waning.

* * *

Kari wasn't sure how to react upon seeing her brother again, casually walking towards her with a big goofy grin on his face and his hands in his pockets. He stopped just short of her and smiled, "Kari! You're a lot taller than I expected you to be. It really did take you...never mind that. You're looking good. A lot better than last time and not as sick. Better than that, you guys have been doing great!"

Kari was pleased to hear this praise, but somehow indifferent to it. She'd wanted nothing more than to have her brother back. And here he was. And she honestly couldn't care less. Maybe it was the bad timing, but she couldn't bring herself to give him the hug she'd always wanted to give him.

"Any way, we can talk more in a minute," He turned his attention to Davis, "Hey Davis. Good work. I was worried for a second but you really pulled through, y'know? You really were amazing!"

"Where the hell have you been?" Davis asked him, "No, forget that. You have to help Ken! He's-"

"That's why I'm here," Tamer interrupted, making his way to Ken's side, "Hey there Wotkin. You've seen better days, huh? Hang in there just a little longer, will ya? You're so much better than you were, and I'm probably the last person you want to see but I'll help you all the same."

Ken made some kind of gasping gesture, trying to shake his fist at Tamer angrily. Then MaloMyotismon growled, "If I might interrupt?"

Tamer turned his head, his grin replaced by a confused grimace, "Sorry? Oh, right. You guys were in the middle of something. Should WarGreymon and I do the part where we make fun of you for a couple of minutes or should we fast forward to the part where these guys go ahead and beat you?"

"It's too late for that Tamer," MaloMyotismon hissed angrily, "It's too late for all of you. I've the power of-"

WarGreymon interrupted, "The control spires and the dark spores on your side. But wasn't the whole point of what just happened to negate their influence?"

"Yeah, it was," Tamer nodded assuringly, "Which reminds me!"

He flipped his digivice in his hand and pointed it at the spore children. They flinched at first, until small specks of light appeared over their heads that gently floated into their hands. Once there, the lights separated into two forms - a digivice and a digiegg. As soon as the eggs appeared, they hatched - revealing small baby digimon that cooed excitedly at their new partners, "A gift for your help you guys. And a reminder to not give up."

To say they were excited to have partners was an understatement. Many of them smiled ecstatically as they cuddled their new friends. However, Noriko raised a skeptical eye, "You're really okay with giving these to us after what we did?"

Tamer nodded with his signature smile, "Of course. Besides, you didn't know what would happen if you did what you did. You guys were just MaloMyotismon's pawns. Actually, you were Oikawa's pawns but he was a pawn so..."

He trailed off and turned on the mega, "How much longer are we going to do this? Because it's been over a thousand years and I'm bored. And tired."

"And old," MaloMyotismon answered, "You've gotten slower with your age. More careless. Yet you still manipulate-"

Tamer interrupted again, "Are we really talking about manipulation right now? Because I'm not the one who infected a bunch of kids, went around wearing a dead man's face for years, and played on people's fears. That was you."

"You did nothing to stop it!" MaloMyotismon roared.

"Oh, so it's our fault that you did those things?" WarGreymon pointed out, "Because that's called dodging responsibility."

Tamer sighed, "I'm not getting any younger so let's end this the way it was always going to. Hey, Matt!"

"WHAT!?" Matt asked, almost snapping at Tamer as he casually strode his way. Tamer threw his hands defensively, "I just need to borrow your digivice for a second if that's alright with you."

"To do what exactly?" Matt asked bitterly, becoming more annoyed as Tamer smiled. He leaned in and whispered something into Matt's ear that the others couldn't hear, leaving them to wonder as Matt's face contorted from anger to displeasure. He handed Tamer his digivice and answered, "Fine. But make it quick. And don't hurt MetalGarurumon!"

"Wait, what exactly is he doing Matt?" MetalGarurumon asked, only to be answered with a tap on the nose by Tamer, "Don't worry. This won't hurt you. Only MaloMyotismon."

With Matt's digivice in hand, Tamer pointed it at MetalGarurumon - absorbing a golden energy from him straight into the digivice. MetalGarurumon regressed back to Gabumon, scratching his head in confusion, "That was weird. I feel…tired."

"That's normal. I think you guys have seen this trick before - Agumon says he did it for you guys when you were fighting BlackWarGreymon. It's a good thing too because you'll need this for later," Tamer answered. Then with a turn, Tamer redistributed that golden energy to Imperialdramon - welling up inside the digimon so that it stood renewed of any injury, "What…just happened?"

"You already had WarGreymon's energy. Now you have MetalGarurumon's energy. Two megas and the power of an Ethereal," Tamer answered turning to MaloMyotismon, "I'm just leveling the playing field since you decided to cheat. Go ahead guys, try out the new power."

A pause followed as Imperialdramon turned on MaloMyotismon. The evil digimon tried to attack, opening the mouths on his shoulder to spew out more mist but was stopped when Imperialdramon punched the digimon so hard that he flew across the open field. When the mega was able to push himself back up, he scowled, "No! I planned too far ahead for this! You should've broken under the illusion! You should've been unable to break the effect of the dark spores! But not even the Tamer's help will overwhelm the power of the control spires! I am a GOD!"

* * *

As he taunted them all, MaloMyotismon missed the one person in his plan he didn't count on.

Oikawa clicked his tongue angrily - to think that his best friend's likeness was worn by this thing. That he had been told everything he wanted to hear by someone claiming to be his best friend. It made him angry. But seeing the boy, the Ancient MaloMyotismon warned him so much about, standing up to MaloMyotismon reminded Oikawa of something. Something he still had in his jacket pocket. He reached in there and pulled out the one thing he needed.

The laptop with Ancient technology inside of it - something MaloMyotismon had taught how to integrate. All it would take would be the press of a button and a few key presses. As long as he was distracted by The Tamer boasting endlessly and Imperialdramon's attack, he would go unnoticed. He typed faster than he ever had before, drawing Cody's attention his way. He asked at just above a whisper, "What are you doing?"

"Undoing my mistake," Oikawa whispered back as he had only one key press left. He had what he needed but he wanted MaloMyotismon to know exactly what caused his downfall. He looked up at the mega level digimon and shouted, "MaloMyotismon!"

The mega turned to face him, "What do you want?"

"Payback. This is for Hiroki!" He pressed the final key on his computer and watched the mega writhe in pain. Black wisps of energy escaped his body, and he collapsed, "Gragh! What is this? What did you do?"

"I disabled your access to the control spires," Oikawa answered spitefully, "You thought you could use me by pretending to be Hiroki. You told me everything I wanted to hear to join your side. Even turned me against his only son. And I'll never forgive you for that."

"You," MaloMyotismon pushed himself back up, charging one last time at Yukio. Before he could even take his second step, Imperialdramon closed the gap and punched him in the face one more time so that he flew through the air again, sliding to a stop at Mimi's feet. He was weak now, barely able to stand. Mimi of all people smiled at him, holding a lighter in his hand and using her feet to slide something beside him, "Hey, MaloMyotismon. Happy New Year."

Then she used the lighter to light a fuse. It was only now that Oikawa realized that he'd landed next to an entire box of fireworks. He was weak now - without the power from the control spires, the power from dark spores, and weakened by the attacks from the digidestined's partners. Everyone scattered away while MaloMyotismon laid there, laughing maniacally as he accepted his fate. He'd always thought it meant something else. Just not this, "A million points of light! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

There was a shattering boom as the fireworks lit up the night sky of the Digital World, scattering in every conceivable direction and dressing the barren field with all different colors of light. It was over. They had defeated MaloMyotismon.

* * *

Tamer wished he could have relished this victory. The cheers from the others as they celebrated their win was music to his ears. All of the digimon regressed to join their partners as they celebrated. He wished he could have enjoyed it more, turning to both WarGreymon and Kari with the biggest smile on his face. He could see the victory on WarGreymon's face. And the relief on Kari's. It should've been a happy moment.

Then he heard Ken struggling to breath, taking in a gasp for breath. He knew what was coming. And he felt fear. Afraid. This was what lay ahead. He froze for a moment, realizing that all his bravado amounted to nothing now that it was his turn. But what would that make him if he defied his destiny? His destination.

He stepped away from them, leaning down beside Ken. They dying boy lay there in Yolei's arms while struggling to stay conscious. He was bleeding out and would likely die if something wasn't done soon. He struggled to breath, gasping for air a second time. Tamer began with a frown, "You hung in there. I know…I'm literally the last person you want to see right now. Believe me, I feel the same way. But…I can't run from this. This is my reward. What I deserve."

"What are you talking about?" Yolei snapped, holding the boy close, "Ken needs help! We need to get him to the Real World! To a hospital."

"I'll fix him," Tamer snapped his fingers and let out a little golden light from his hands, "I…really don't want to but…"

He stopped when Ken gasped for breath again. His third breath. It was now or never. He placed his hands on Ken's chest and felt the energy run out of him - closing the wound in Ken's side and jolting him awake as he gasped again. His fourth breath. Tamer sank to the ground, trying to give Yolei and Ken space as she hugged him. To them, it was nothing short of a miracle. But only Ken seemed to realize the gravity of what happened, "What did you do?"

"Gave you the rest of my life. Sixty to seventy years worth. Just like Wormmon did for Magnamon," Tamer answered, pushing himself back up and trying to force the biggest smile he could. Ken shook his head, "I know you did that. You're the one who taught me and Wormmon that trick. I meant…why?"

Tamer closed his eyes for a second, trying to steady himself before he started walking away, "You said so yourself, Ken. You would be the one to kill me. You would end my life. You just…didn't know how you would do it yet. But don't get too upset. I'm not blaming you. No one should. This was my choice. Besides…I still have ten minutes left. That's more than enough time."

"Enough time for what?" Ken asked him. Tamer didn't answer, trying to conserve what little strength he had left as he made his way back to Kari.

* * *

Kari watched Ken's injuries miraculously heal - as he sprang to life good as new. Her brother seemed sicker now. More tired. But that didn't stop him from coming her way with the biggest, goofiest smile shed ever seen. He even managed a jolly tone as he spoke, "You guys were fantastic. All of you. I'm proud of you guys."

"What's with you?" Gatomon asked before she could say anything. Her brother didn't answer, keeping his eyes fixed on her. Then he shed his coat, "You look cold."

"Tai, what's wrong?" she asked, wanting to know the answer to Gatomon's question. He wrapped his long blue coat around her. It was several sizes too big but there was a welcoming warmth to it that made it more than comfortable. He answered, "I wish…I could've been around a little longer. But I guess fate just doesn't want to work out that way."

He paused, looking skyward to the Real World, "Your world is very beautiful. It's not a bad sight to see. I'm sure you...and your brother would've been happy with each other if he were still around."

Realization dawned on Kari as he turned to look at her. He still kept that smile on his face but it was tired now. And it made her uneasy. The boy took her hand in his and removed his goggles, making sure it was firmly in her hand and closing it shut, "Those have been with me from before I can remember, Kari. I've always had them…but…I don't know. It seems right to give them to you."

Then he embraced her. And she hugged him back. When she finally found the will to speak, it was at just above a whisper, "I waited for you to come back for so long. Ever since the first time you showed back up in our apartment. Ever since we got called back to the Digital World. Why didn't you come back sooner?"

"I'm an Ancient," was his answer, "I...know how much you miss your brother. How badly you want him back. I...only have a few moments left and...I can't be the brother you always wished you had in your life. But I can give you this."

He tapped his finger to her forehead, and images began to race into her mind. Images of her brother and herself together throughout her life. When she fell ill and was unable to go to summer camp, he would've magically appeared at the door with a Koromon to make her eggs. During the rest of their summer break, she would've interrupted him as he tried to send an apology email to Sora. In retaliation, he would've tried to steal a birthday present for her friend. Images of them at Christmas opening presents, going to his soccer games, him coming to her school plays. Events in her life that could've been. That would've been if her brother never disappeared. It brought a tear to her eye but she knew that was just a dream now - something that could never be.

Then he hugged her one last time, "Stop waiting for that older brother you miss to come back, Kari. He isn't going to. But don't think that means I won't look out for you. This isn't the end. We'll meet each other again. Someday, not too long from now. It may take weeks, months, maybe years. But we'll meet again. You may not recognize me, but I will recognize you. Until then, live your life and become the teacher you always to be. And prove that I'm not wrong when I say you're ready for it. You've done so much on your own. You'll be great at the rest. Good bye, Kari."

Tamer let Kari go and stepped away. Before Kari could even think to chase after him, WarGreymon placed a hand on her. He held her in place, keeping her from running after her brother as he walked a good distance away. He stopped, barely turning his head as he said, "Thank you too, WarGreymon. For everything."

There was a pause, before WarGreymon could answer, "Don't keep me waiting, partner."

Tamer looked ahead again, up towards the sky where the Real World was just over head. It looked like he wanted to reach for it, but instead he pocketed his hands and stared up. When he finally looked away, he whimpered, "I'm not ready."

He removed his hands from his pockets in time to see them dissipate into bits of data - working its way under his clothes but revealing a green wire mesh underneath bathed in golden light. Kari looked back at WarGreymon in a panic, "What's happening? WarGreymon! WHAT'S HAPPENING!?"

WarGreymon's answer was not what she wanted to hear, "They're beings of data, same as me and all the other digimon. But death is a little different for them. They reformat but...not the way digimon do. There's a price they have to pay. And I'm sorry. None of us can be anywhere near him when it happens."

Before Kari could ask what he meant, WarGreymon pressed a button on her digivice, bringing all the digivices around them to life. They whistled and screeched - pulling everyone and their partners backwards through tears in the Digital World around them. Before Kari could even register what was happening, she was back in the Real World - at Highton View Terrace with all the other Japanese digidestined and their partners.

"We're back!" Sora gasped, "In Highton View Terrace."

"I don't get it. What happened?" Yolei asked, crossing her arms.

"I activated your digivices to take you all back to your world," WarGreymon answered for them. Gatomon was the first to speak, "I don't believe it…he reformatted."

Kari looked at her partner nervously, "Reformatted? So that means he'll come back, right? Like all the other digimon who die?"

WarGreymon looked down at Gatomon, "Do you want to answer?"

Gatomon looked away nervously, "Ancients…don't reformat the way digimon do. They don't always come back right. New face, new body, new mind, new everything, but their memories are still there. The person they were vanishes, and someone new walks away. Sort of like how some digimon can retain their memories. Back when Wizardmon was still…the Wizardmon I knew, he said that was when an Ancient was most vulnerable and most dangerous. Anything digital that stands too close could get absorbed and influence whoever comes out. I always thought it was crazy - seeing the Tamer die. Hell, I didn't think anything could kill him. And…Tamer's right, it could be a long time before you see him again."

Kari looked at WarGreymon, who nodded to confirm the answer. She didn't know how to feel now. She'd finally gotten her brother back but her response wasn't what she thought it would've been. And now he was gone again. But it didn't leave her feeling sad. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder. Davis, was trying to offer some kind of comfort, "I'm sorry, Kari."

"Don't be. We'll meet again. He said so," Kari managed a smile. Fireworks lit up the night sky of Tokyo and Kari said to the others, "Happy New Year everyone."

* * *

**20 Years Later...**

_WarGreymon went back to the Digital World after that day to find Tamer. We only saw him one more time after that, in the middle of spring. Since that time, I don't think any of us ever met the Digimon Tamer again. Thankfully, the gates to the Digital World remained open so we could visit our friends in the Digital World any time. And any time either world was in danger, every one of the digidestined would always answer the call. For a while, it was like living a dream._

_But it became harder to answer the needs of the Digital World as we got older. We all became busy with our education, our careers, or our own personal lives. Cody followed in his father's foot steps, becoming a man of the law. But not in the way you'd think - he became a lawyer. About a week after the New Year started, Ken and Yolei started dating - through junior high, high school, and college. Yolei's calling ended up being as a computer developer of all things while Ken became a private detective - both in the Digital World and the Real World._

_To no one's surprise, Joe became a doctor like his dad and. He joined Doctors Without Borders and even began practicing in the Digital World. Izzy was a part of that practice, using his knowledge of computers and working with Yolei on the side to study more about the Digital World. This actually helped to make both of them better at programming._

_To everyone's surprise, my brother Matt enlisted in the Japanese Self Defense Force after High School and somehow got selected to be a part of the space program. After a few brief stints in space, he retired and continued his music career. He and Sora also started dating officially after New Year's and got married straight after high school. A lot of girls were jealous of her, especially when she discovered her passion for floral arrangement. She was so good at it that she ended up taking over her mother's flower shop and expanded it into fashion._

_Which was exactly the gateway Mimi needed to get in that business. Between modeling Sora's clothes, designing some of her own, and promotional work - it wasn't long before Mimi became a small celebrity. She eventually left it all behind to do TV - doing cooking shows, home decor shows, and a few soap operas. Apparently, Izzy is her biggest fan. None of us are sure if they're together or not, though._

_Davis opened up his ramen cart like he'd always hoped and it wasn't half bad. He and Kari did end up dating for a little bit in high school. It didn't work out, but they're still on speaking terms and its obvious there's no hard feelings. Kari went on to pursue her teaching career and ended up working at a local elementary school._

_As for myself, I became an investigative journalist like my mom. I worked for a small news organization, until eventually going freelance to investigate some stuff that came up on the radar. But, like most of you figured out, I became a writer in my spare time. We digidestined still meet up with each other every once in a while in the Digital World. Those of us who have kids bring them along sometimes to show them the Digital World. We were happy to see them all becoming such good friends. None of us knows what lies ahead - it's been a long time since we've heard anything about destiny or what has to be. It feels like our future is in our hands now._

Takeru paused, taking a quick break from writing on his computer. His manuscript was almost done; just a few more pages and it would be complete. Then he thought about what he would have to write next. Just thinking about it made him nervous. His nerves gave way to paranoia as an uneasy feeling washed over him. There was something else in his study with him and he looked up from his computer to see a darkened room lit only by the glow of his computer. All of his senses were telling him he was alone, but he couldn't shake his unease. As crazy as it seemed, he called out into the darkness, "I know you're there. Come out."

"You're getting good at this," came the reply. From out of a darkened corner of his study came the same blonde stranger he'd met years ago in Odaiba - the one who only identified himself as Hokage. The same Hokage who hadn't aged a day. Hokage smiled cheerfully, "How've you been, TK?"

"It's Takeru to you. Why are you here?" Takeru asked back. Hokage answered by tossing a book at him. It took a second for TK to make it out in the darkened room but he recognized it as his last book. The book about their adventures in the Digital World. It was far from a best seller, since it technically counted as an autobiography but it had more than a few dedicated fans. Hokage made his way to the computer, "It's not a bad read. Very insightful honestly. I just wished you hadn't published it. Either way, word is you were working on the manuscript for the next story. I just wanted to make sure that you didn't discuss anything you weren't supposed to."

"I only brought up what happened," Takeru replied anxiously. Hokage's smile became teasing, "You are so sexy when you're being like this. That book of yours put a target on your back. And you better believe people are interested in what you have to say now Takeru."

"What for?" Takeru asked almost daringly. Hokage laughed, "What do you think? I'm just here to remind you that if you keep talking about it, you'll be in serious danger."

"Are you threatening me?" Takeru asked. Hokage waved him off dismissively, "Not at all. I'm just reminding you of the state of the world. We can protect you and keep these people off your back. But if you keep talking about things you're not supposed to, there won't be much my people can do. I'm sure you'll make the right call."

With that, Hokage vanished the same way he had when he mysteriously entered. Takeru felt an uncertainty he hadn't felt in a long time. A fear for his own safety. He turned back to his manuscript. It would take a long time to edit out anything that wasn't supposed to be in there.

 

* * *

Tamer blinked, screaming in pain and agony as his body finished reformatting. He examined himself carefully, to make sure everything was still there. This was a different experience and he didn't feel quite right in his new form. While he grew accustomed to it, he also needed to be sure everything was there, "Hands. With fingers! One, two…ten fingers! Good. Like grabbing things. And legs! Yes, need legs! Shoes don't fit right anymore. That's different. Let's see."

He pressed his hands against his face to make sure everything was still there, "Eyes? Two. Ears? Two. Nose, mouth? Chin? Good. Hair? Short. That'll take some getting used to. Wait…my voice! MY VOICE!"

It registered how much higher the pitch was and how wrong it was, "I'M A GIRL!"

He quickly pressed one hand against his throat to make sure that wasn't the case. He felt an Adam's apple which was good. Then he pulled his pants open to make sure. Yes, he was a boy. Definitely a boy. But it was not as big as it should've been. Then he noticed something else. His clothes were loose and poorly fitted. As if meant for someone taller. He took one step and tripped as his own shoe was now too large. Then it clicked, "Oh, I'm not a girl. WAIT! I'M A KID! I DON'T WANT TO GO THROUGH PUBERTY AGAIN!"

Then he pulled his hair down to check its color, "At least it's still brown. There was something else I had to do…what was it? Something important."

The ground shook beneath him and he remembered. The Digital World was repairing itself. Oikawa had shut off the control spires which meant all the energy they'd absorbed would've been freed. He couldn't be here. He had to get off world quickly. He looked around. WarGreymon was gone and so were the others. Hopefully they were somewhere safe. He fiddled with his digivice, "Come on. Come on. How do I use this thing? GOT IT!"

With one button press, a tear opened beneath him and he fell through it. He could feel himself falling past different worlds and realities. He'd just barely managed to get away alive. The sudden rush was so exciting that he yelled out, "WOO! HERE WE GO!"

* * *

In a dark one bedroom apartment somewhere in the world, a lone adult sits at a couch and types away at a laptop. They sigh after a while and close the lid, "Okay. We're only slightly behind schedule. Let's get cracking on phase three."

They stretch once before continuing their work.


End file.
